✍️ Zapply

Upload a CV. Paste a job description. Get a tailored, human-sounding cover letter in about 15 seconds.

No generic "I am writing to express my interest...". No awkward AI fluff. Just a cover letter that actually sounds like you.

🌐 Live app: https://zapply-cyan.vercel.app

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✨ Features

• 📄 Upload your resume (PDF) and paste the job description, that's literally the entire workflow.
• 🤖 AI-generated cover letter powered by OpenAI gpt-4.1
  • sounds like a real person, not a template
  • skips cliché openings and corporate buzzwords
  • mirrors the language and tone of the job posting
  • honestly acknowledges career changes instead of pretending they never happened
• 📝 Ready-to-send formatting
  • contact details
  • date
  • subject line
  • professionally structured body
  • signature
• 📋 Copy with one click or 📥 download as a polished one-page PDF.

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React + Vite + TypeScript, Material UI
Backend	Flask (Python)
AI	OpenAI API (gpt-4.1)
PDF Parsing	pymupdf4llm
PDF Generation	html2pdf.js
Hosting	Vercel (frontend) + Render (backend)

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📂 Project Structure

Zapply/
├── backend/
│   ├── app.py               # Flask entrypoint + CORS
│   ├── processing.py        # Handles uploads and orchestrates the pipeline
│   ├── openai_service.py    # Prompt engineering + OpenAI calls
│   └── requirements.txt
└── frontend/
    └── src/
        ├── pages/
        │   ├── UploadPage.tsx
        │   └── CoverLetterPage.tsx
        └── components/
            └── Navbar.tsx

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🚀 Local Setup

Backend

cd backend
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate      # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Create a .env file:

OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key_here

Run:

python app.py

Backend → http://localhost:5000

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Frontend

cd frontend
npm install

Create a .env file:

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:5000

Run:

npm run dev

Frontend → http://localhost:5173

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🔐 Environment Variables

Variable	Location	Purpose
OPENAI_API_KEY	backend/.env	Generates the cover letter
FRONTEND_URL	Render	Allowed frontend origin for CORS
VITE_API_URL	Frontend	Backend API URL

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☁️ Deployment

Backend (Render)

• Root directory: backend
• Build command:

  pip install -r requirements.txt

• Start command:

  gunicorn app:app --bind 0.0.0.0:$PORT

• Environment variables:
  • OPENAI_API_KEY
  • FRONTEND_URL

Frontend (Vercel)

• Root directory: frontend
• Framework preset: Vite
• Environment variable:
  • VITE_API_URL → deployed Render backend URL

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⚠️ Known Limitations

• 🧠 Stateless by design: nothing is stored after a request finishes.
• 🔒 CORS is intentionally restricted to approved frontend origins.
• 💻 pymupdf4llm brings in onnxruntime, which may log harmless GPU detection warnings on Render's CPU-only machines.
• 😴 Render's free tier goes to sleep after inactivity, so the first request may take ~30 seconds to wake up.
• 👤 No authentication: this is a personal project, not a multi-user SaaS.

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💡 Why I built this

After applying to way too many jobs, I realized the hardest part wasn't updating my CV; it was rewriting the same cover letter over and over again.

Most AI tools either sound overly formal, stuff every sentence with buzzwords, or generate the same generic opening every recruiter has already seen.

So I built Zapply to generate cover letters that feel more human: tailored to the job description, grounded in the candidate's actual experience, and ready to send with minimal editing.