JobTrackr

A kanban-style job application tracker. Track applications through each stage, log referral contacts and outreach, and keep notes on interview rounds.

• Frontend: React 19, Vite, Tailwind CSS, dnd-kit (drag and drop), React Router
• Backend: FastAPI, SQLAlchemy, PostgreSQL, JWT auth (access + refresh tokens)
• Hosting: Vercel (frontend), Railway (backend + Postgres)

Features

• Sign up / log in with email and password
• Drag job cards between stages (Wishlist, Applied, Interview, Offer, Rejected)
• Job detail drawer with location, notes, salary range, deadlines and links
• Contacts per job: who you reached out to, how, and whether they replied
• Interview rounds per job with dates and outcomes

Project structure

backend/     FastAPI app (run from inside this folder)
  main.py        app setup, CORS, rate limiting, /health
  auth.py        password hashing and JWT helpers
  models.py      SQLAlchemy models (users, jobs, contacts, interviews)
  schemas.py     Pydantic request/response schemas
  routes/        /auth and /jobs endpoints
  migrations/    Alembic database migrations
  migrate.py     applies migrations (runs automatically on startup)
frontend/    React + Vite single-page app
  src/api/       axios client with automatic token refresh
  src/pages/     Login, Signup, Dashboard
  src/components/

Running locally

You need Python 3.12, Node 20+, and a local PostgreSQL database.

Backend

cd backend
python -m venv ../venv && source ../venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
cp .env.example .env   # then fill in DATABASE_URL and SECRET_KEY
uvicorn main:app --reload

The API runs at http://localhost:8000 with interactive docs at http://localhost:8000/docs. Database migrations run automatically on startup.

Frontend

cd frontend
npm install
cp .env.example .env
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5173.

Environment variables

Where	Variable	Purpose
backend	DATABASE_URL	Postgres connection string
backend	SECRET_KEY	JWT signing key, unique per environment
backend	ALGORITHM	JWT algorithm (HS256)
backend	ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES	Access token lifetime
backend	REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRE_DAYS	Refresh token lifetime
backend	ALLOWED_ORIGINS	Comma-separated frontend URLs allowed by CORS
frontend	VITE_API_URL	Backend URL, read at build time

Deployment

Backend (Railway): deploy the repo with Root Directory backend, add a PostgreSQL database, set the backend variables above (DATABASE_URL=${{Postgres.DATABASE_URL}}), generate a domain, and set the health check path to /health. The Procfile starts uvicorn on Railway's $PORT.

Frontend (Vercel): import the repo with Root Directory frontend (Vite is auto-detected) and set VITE_API_URL to the Railway domain. vercel.json rewrites all routes to index.html so refreshing on /login works.

Connect them: set ALLOWED_ORIGINS on Railway to the Vercel URL.

Notes

• Login is limited to 10 attempts per minute and signup to 10 per hour, per IP.
• Emails are case-insensitive; passwords must be at least 8 characters.

Changing the database schema

The schema is managed with Alembic. Pending migrations are applied automatically every time the backend starts, locally and on Render.

To add or change a column:

1. Edit backend/models.py (and schemas.py if the API should expose it).
2. Generate a migration against your local database:

   cd backend
   alembic revision --autogenerate -m "describe the change"

3. Read the generated file in migrations/versions/ and check that it does what you expect.
4. Restart the backend locally to apply it, then commit the migration together with the model change. Render applies it on the next deploy.

New columns on existing tables should be nullable (or have a server default) so that existing rows stay valid.