CVForge by Anvilary is a local-first CV builder and ATS-style CV analyzer. Create and refine a structured CV, see its PDF preview as you edit, export portable backups, and analyze PDF resumes without creating an account.
Production origin: cvforge.anvilary.tools
Important
CVForge stores CV data in your browser, not in a hosted account or database. Export a JSON backup after meaningful changes and keep it somewhere you control. Clearing site data, changing browsers or devices, or losing access to a browser profile can remove your local CV.
To move a CV between browsers or devices, export your JSON backup and import it into the new browser. CVForge does not synchronize local data.
The hosted instance is a convenient way to use the tool, not a cloud-backup service or a guarantee of permanent data availability. You can also self-host CVForge.
CVForge is open source under the MIT License.
CVForge deliberately keeps its data model and operating requirements small:
- Local first. Build and analyze CVs in the browser, without accounts, a database, server-side CV storage, or an external analysis API.
- Portable. Validated JSON is the primary full-fidelity backup and restore format. CVForge-generated PDFs can also carry an embedded session for restoration.
- Live preview. The Builder renders the current CV through the same PDF document model used for downloads, with zoom and Fit controls.
- Explainable analysis. Scoring is deterministic and computed locally, with visible evidence, priorities, and actionable suggestions.
- Review before replacement. Importing an external PDF creates a best-effort draft that must be reviewed before it replaces Builder data.
- Recoverable. Unreadable saved data is protected from silent overwrite, and conflicting changes from another browser tab pause automatic saving.
- Straightforward to self-host. The standalone web application needs no application database or user-account infrastructure.
CVForge is not a commercial applicant-tracking system, an AI hiring assessor, or a service that predicts recruiter decisions. Its ATS-style checks are practical improvement signals, not acceptance or hiring guarantees.
CVForge has two modes in one responsive workbench.
- Edit your profile, work experience, projects, education, skills, languages, and custom sections.
- Reorder and hide sections, edit section titles, and choose layout settings, including A4 or US Letter, color, typography, spacing, and compact mode.
- See a PDF-backed canvas preview that updates as you work. Resize, zoom, and switch mobile workbench panels without discarding the current preview.
- Download a PDF, export a JSON backup, or restore a previously saved CV.
- Open a CVForge-generated PDF with an embedded session to recover its structured content when that attachment is present.
- Analyze the current Builder CV directly, or select a PDF from your device.
- Inspect extraction and parseability warnings separately from CV quality findings.
- Review weighted scores for completeness, structure, clarity, impact, ATS-style compatibility, and PDF parseability when applicable.
- See detected evidence, prioritized issues, explanations, and suggested improvements.
- Review an external PDF's best-effort structured draft before importing it into the Builder.
PDF analysis supports files up to 15 MB and 20 pages. English and Portuguese (Portugal) have explicit language-aware diagnostics; other languages receive language-neutral fallback checks.
The canonical CV state lives in browser localStorage. There is no account
sync, automatic cross-device transfer, or hosted copy of your CV.
| Format | Purpose | Important boundary |
|---|---|---|
| JSON | Full-fidelity backup and validated import | Recommended for reliable recovery and device migration |
| CVForge PDF | Printable export with an optional embedded CV session | Session restore works only when the attachment is present |
| External PDF | Local extraction, analysis, and reviewed draft import | Parsing is heuristic and may miss or misidentify fields |
Keep exported files private. CVs can contain contact details, employment history, and other personal information. The app's local-first design does not protect an exported file once you share or upload it elsewhere.
If stored data is corrupt or was written by a newer CVForge schema, the Builder must not silently replace it. Download the available recovery data before starting fresh or rolling back an application version.
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Application | Next.js App Router, React, TypeScript |
| Interface | Tailwind CSS and shared Anvilary workbench components |
| State and validation | React reducer, Zod schemas and migrations |
| Persistence | Browser localStorage |
| PDF generation | @react-pdf/renderer and pdf-lib |
| PDF preview and extraction | pdfjs-dist, running in the browser |
| Tests | Vitest, Playwright and axe |
| Workspace | pnpm and Make |
| Deployment | Standalone Node.js image, Docker Compose, Nginx and Cloudflare Tunnel |
No application backend, account service, or database is required.
Reference toolchain:
- Node.js 22.13 or newer, below 23
- pnpm 10.5.2 through Corepack
- Docker and Docker Compose for container and complete release validation
git clone https://github.com/alteixeira20/CVForge.git
cd CVForge
corepack enable
corepack prepare pnpm@10.5.2 --activate
pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
make devOpen http://127.0.0.1:3000.
Useful lifecycle commands:
make help
make check
make status
make logs
make stopTo inspect the standalone production build locally:
NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL=https://cvforge.anvilary.tools make preview-build
make preview-start
make preview-status
make preview-stopThe default preview address is http://127.0.0.1:3030. This address is
only for local testing; canonical metadata uses the production origin
supplied at build time.
CV data and PDF processing stay in the browser:
Builder
structured CV state -> browser localStorage -> validated JSON backup
-> PDF document -> canvas preview
-> PDF download + optional session
Analyzer
current Builder state ----------------------> local scoring
selected PDF -> local extraction + validation -> local scoring
-> reviewed import draft
The maintained data contract is defined by the Zod schemas in
apps/web/src/types/cv/. Import validation and schema migrations protect
the stored format, and external PDF parsing never silently replaces the
Builder's current CV.
The public web server serves the application, static assets, metadata, and health information. Normal Builder and Analyzer workflows do not upload CV contents to it.
- PDF parsing and scoring run locally. The PDF.js worker is served from the same origin as the application.
- Uploaded-file validation checks PDF signature, extension, available MIME information, size, and page count before analysis.
- Processing includes cancellation and stale-result protection so an older PDF cannot replace a newer analysis result.
- A production Content Security Policy and other response headers are part of the standalone application.
- Image-only or scanned PDFs need selectable text for analysis; CVForge does not send documents to cloud OCR.
A local-first application still depends on the safety of the browser, device, and any copies you export. Do not put real CV data or private PDFs in public bug reports.
The production origin is configured with NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL at
build time. It determines canonical links, Open Graph and JSON-LD
URLs, robots.txt, and sitemap.xml. Setting a different runtime
variable does not rewrite an existing build.
Run the complete release gate against your intended HTTPS origin:
NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL=https://cvforge.anvilary.tools \
DOCKER_PORT=3030 \
make release-checkThe gate includes a frozen dependency install, lint, type checking, production build, dependency audit, unit tests, Chromium and axe checks, critical Firefox/WebKit tests, and Docker validation.
A maintained deployment example under
deploy/self-hosted uses a shared Docker
network behind Nginx and Cloudflare Tunnel, without publishing the
application's container port. Deployments should terminate HTTPS at a
trusted edge, configure the appropriate security headers, retain a
previous validated image for rollback, and monitor application health
at /health.
See the deployment runbook for standalone Docker, reverse-proxy configuration, smoke tests, backup considerations, and rollback.
These are explicit product limitations, not implied guarantees:
- Local browser data is not synchronized or backed up by the hosted site.
- The Analyzer accepts PDF only. DOCX, plain-text input, and OCR are not currently supported.
- External PDF extraction is best effort, especially for scans, protected files, complex layouts, and unusual reading order.
- The built-in PDF fonts do not cover every writing system. The Builder warns when text contains characters its PDF export cannot reliably render.
- The current Editor uses section move controls rather than drag-and-drop reordering. Photo-layout templates are not yet included.
- Scoring is a documented, rule-based assessment rather than a reproduction of a proprietary ATS.
- Browser profiles and website origins have separate local storage; use JSON export and import when moving a CV between them.
See product scope for implemented and planned features.
Keep changes focused and include tests for behavior that users depend on, especially persistence, PDF output, responsive preview, import, and privacy. Run the relevant checks before opening a pull request:
pnpm check:em-dash
pnpm check:commits
pnpm lint
pnpm typecheck
pnpm test:unit
pnpm test:e2e:chromium
bash scripts/cross-browser-check.shEnable the repository's versioned commit-message hook with make hooks.
Please do not attach real CVs, contact details, or private PDFs to
public issues.
CVForge is a clean-room rebuild. Contributors must not copy source from OpenResume-derived codebases or quarantined reference material. Read the clean-room rules before contributing.
A green historical build does not certify later changes. Release candidates need the full gate on the exact source revision, followed by deployment-specific and manual browser checks.
Start with:
- Product scope
- Release QA checklist
- Deployment and rollback
- Shared-host deployment
- Release-readiness audit
- Test evidence
- Implementation plan
- Clean-room rules
CVForge is maintained by Alexandre Teixeira and distributed under the MIT License.