Applera

An AI-powered job application platform that streamlines the job search process with automated CV parsing, application generation, and interview preparation.

Overview

Applera is a full-stack TypeScript turborepo designed to help job seekers manage applications efficiently. The platform leverages AI (Groq) to parse CVs, generate tailored applications, and provide interview prep guidance.

Architecture

The project is organized as a pnpm workspace monorepo with two apps:

apps/client/ — Frontend

A modern React 19 + TypeScript single-page application built with:

• Vite for fast development and optimized builds
• TanStack Router for file-based routing
• TanStack Query for server state management
• Clerk for authentication
• Tailwind CSS v4 + shadcn/ui for styling and components
• Axios with modularised request/response interceptors
• Deployed on Vercel

apps/server/ — Backend

A Node.js + Express REST API built with:

• Express 5 for HTTP handling
• MongoDB + Mongoose for data persistence
• Clerk for authentication (JWT verification)
• Groq API (llama-3.3-70b-versatile) for AI-powered features
• Cloudinary for PDF file storage
• Upstash Redis for caching and rate limiting
• Deployed on Render

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• pnpm 11.8.0 (npm install -g pnpm@11.8.0)

Setup

pnpm install

Environment Setup

Each app requires its own .env file. See the respective READMEs for details:

• Client: apps/client/README.md
• Server: apps/server/README.md

Development

# Start both client and server concurrently
pnpm dev

# Or start individually
pnpm dev:client   # http://localhost:5173
pnpm dev:server   # http://localhost:5005

Docker

# Development
pnpm dev:docker

# Production
pnpm docker:prod

Key Features

CV Management

Upload and parse resumes via AI, extract structured data (skills, experience, education), and store PDFs securely on Cloudinary.

Job Applications

Auto-generate tailored cover letters and applications with AI-powered content generation via Groq. Track application status across multiple roles.

Interview Preparation

Generate personalised interview prep guides and questions based on your CV and job description.

Application Tracking

Monitor application status, view dashboard insights, and visualise job search progress.

Security

• Helmet for HTTP security headers
• CORS restricted to frontend domain
• CSRF protection via double-submit cookie pattern with in-flight deduplication
• MongoDB query filter sanitization via mongoose.set('sanitizeFilter', true)
• MongoDB ObjectId validation at request boundaries
• Input validation and sanitization (Zod, HPP, object stripping)
• Clerk JWT verification on all protected routes
• Svix signature verification on webhook endpoint
• Per-route and global rate limiting via Upstash Redis
• Usage-based AI quota limiting — quota only charged after validation passes
• IPv4 and IPv6 address masking in logs

Project Structure

.
├── apps/
│   ├── client/
│   │   └── src/
│   │       ├── api/
│   │       │   ├── application/
│   │       │   ├── cv/
│   │       │   ├── interview/
│   │       │   ├── job/
│   │       │   ├── interceptors/
│   │       │   ├── client.ts
│   │       │   ├── queryKeys.ts
│   │       │   └── types.ts
│   │       ├── components/
│   │       ├── hooks/
│   │       ├── pages/
│   │       ├── routes/
│   │       └── utils/
│   └── server/
│       └── src/
│           ├── config/
│           ├── controllers/
│           ├── lib/
│           ├── middleware/
│           │   ├── auth/
│           │   ├── pdf/
│           │   ├── rate/
│           │   ├── request/
│           │   └── upload/
│           ├── models/
│           ├── prompts/
│           ├── routes/
│           ├── services/
│           │   ├── application/
│           │   ├── audit/
│           │   ├── match/
│           │   └── pipeline/
│           ├── types/
│           ├── utils/
│           ├── workers/
│           └── server.ts
├── docker-compose.dev.yml
├── docker-compose.prod.yml
├── pnpm-workspace.yaml
├── package.json
└── tsconfig.json

Tech Stack

Category	Technology
Frontend	React 19, TypeScript, Vite, TanStack Router/Query
Backend	Node.js, Express 5, TypeScript
Database	MongoDB Atlas + Mongoose
Auth	Clerk (JWT-based)
AI	Groq (llama-3.3-70b-versatile)
File Storage	Cloudinary
Cache	Upstash Redis
Styling	Tailwind CSS v4, shadcn/ui
Validation	Zod

Documentation

• Frontend: apps/client/README.md
• Backend: apps/server/README.md

Deployment

Frontend — Vercel

• Build command: vite build
• Output directory: dist
• Root directory: apps/client

Backend — Render

• Build command: pnpm install && pnpm run build
• Start command: pnpm start

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Copyright (c) 2026 Applera. All rights reserved.