AI-assisted job applications that actually fit the role — without the spray-and-pray.
Smart Apply is an open-source Chrome extension that sits alongside any job posting. It scrapes the role, analyses your fit, and writes a tailored CV and cover letter — then keeps you in the loop before anything goes out.
Not a bot. Not a blank page. Something better.
- Scrape — open any job posting and click Scrape. Smart Apply reads the page and extracts the title, company, location, salary, and description.
- Analyse fit — get an honest 0–100 fit score with a signal breakdown, green flags, red flags, and suggested angles to lean into.
- Generate — one click produces a tailored CV and cover letter, kept to 1–2 pages, grouped by company, no filler.
- Refine — chat with the AI to rewrite bullets, adjust tone, or cut sections. Changes flow back into your documents live.
- Apply — export to PDF, copy to clipboard, or let Smart Apply fill the application form fields directly from your profile.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Works everywhere | LinkedIn, Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, Amazon Jobs, and any other job site |
| Fit score | 0–100 with signal breakdown, green/red flags, suggested angles |
| Tailored CV + cover letter | 1–2 pages, grouped by employer, no objectives section, no fluff |
| Chat refinement | Natural language edits that update your documents live |
| Form fill | AI maps your profile into application form fields automatically |
| PDF export | Direct download, auto-named surname-company-cv.pdf |
| Document history | Paginated history of all generated CVs and cover letters |
| Multi-provider | Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, or any custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint |
| 100% private | Everything lives in IndexedDB on your machine. Nothing touches our servers. |
Smart Apply has no server, no account, and no telemetry.
- Your profile, documents, and job history are stored locally in IndexedDB (via Dexie.js)
- Your API key is stored in
chrome.storage.local - The only external calls go directly from your browser to whichever AI provider you configure
- See the full Privacy Policy
Smart Apply works with any of these providers — pick one:
| Provider | Get a key | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic (recommended) | console.anthropic.com | ~$0.05 per application |
| OpenAI | platform.openai.com | ~$0.05 per application |
| Gemini | aistudio.google.com | Free tier available |
| Groq | console.groq.com | Free tier available |
| OpenRouter | openrouter.ai | Pay per use |
New Anthropic accounts receive free credits sufficient to test all features.
From the Chrome Web Store (coming soon)
Or load unpacked (for development):
git clone https://github.com/mhufton/smart-apply.git
cd smart-apply
npm install
npm run buildThen in Chrome: go to chrome://extensions, enable Developer Mode, click Load unpacked, and select the dist/ folder.
Click the Smart Apply icon in your toolbar → Settings tab → select your provider and paste your API key.
- Navigate to any job posting
- Click the Smart Apply toolbar icon to open the side panel
- Job tab → click Scrape this page
- Review the extracted job details, then click Analyse Fit
- Review your fit score and signals, then click Generate
- Your tailored CV and cover letter appear in the Docs tab
- Refine via Chat, export to PDF, or click Fill form to inject your details into the application form
Try the extension on our demo job posting — a realistic Senior Full Stack Engineer role with a full application form. No data is submitted anywhere.
- Vite + CRXJS (
@crxjs/vite-plugin) — Chrome extension bundling - React 18 + TypeScript — panel UI
- Tailwind CSS 3 — styling
- Dexie.js — IndexedDB wrapper for local storage
- jsPDF — client-side PDF generation
- Chrome Side Panel API — 1/3-width panel alongside the page
src/
background/ # Service worker — toolbar click, LinkedIn injection
content/ # Content script — job scraping, form field detection
panel/
tabs/ # JobTab, ProfileTab, DocumentsTab, ChatTab, SettingsTab
lib/ # claude.ts (API + prompts), storage.ts, db.ts, markdown.ts
components/ # Shared UI components
types/ # Shared TypeScript types
manifest.json
website/ # Next.js marketing site (app router, static)
npm install
npm run dev # Vite dev server (load dist/ as unpacked extension)
npm run build # Production build → dist/After each build, go to chrome://extensions and click the refresh icon on Smart Apply.
Issues and PRs are welcome. This is a work in progress — expect rough edges.
- Report bugs or suggest features on GitHub Issues
- General enquiries: contact@nerdlabsltd.com
MIT — see LICENSE
© 2026 Nerd Labs Ltd