Aplayan — AI-Powered Job Search & Application Tracker for Filipino Professionals

Aplayan is a modern, full-stack, AI-augmented career copilot and job application tracking platform tailored specifically for Filipino job seekers and global remote professionals. It combines drag-and-drop Kanban application management, rigorous Philippine statutory tax computation (BIR TRAIN Law, SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG), real-time multi-currency FX conversion, Google Gemini AI ATS resume matching (4-pillar weighted evaluation rubric), dynamic job offer comparison, AI interview coaching, document studio with versioned resume snapshots, recruiter CRM, and predictive career analytics.

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What It Does

Modern job seekers face fragmented workflows: tracking applications across messy spreadsheets, guessing how resumes score against ATS filters, manually calculating Philippine tax deductions from gross salaries, and losing track of follow-up timelines. Aplayan solves this by providing an end-to-end career command center:

• Kanban & List Application Tracking: Interactive drag-and-drop board powered by @dnd-kit with customizable status columns (Wishlist, Applied, Interviewing, Offer, Rejected), priority tags, multi-currency support, and granular activity timelines.
• Philippine Statutory Tax & Take-Home Pay Engine: Real-time net salary calculator incorporating the BIR TRAIN Law brackets, 2025/2026 SSS tiered contribution schedules, PhilHealth 5% premium rates, Pag-IBIG caps with voluntary contributions, non-taxable 13th-month pay ceilings (₱90,000 threshold), de minimis benefits, and taxable allowances.
• Multi-Currency FX Conversion: Automatic real-time currency normalization (USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, SGD, JPY, CAD to PHP) allowing remote Filipino professionals to evaluate foreign offers directly against Philippine living standards and net take-home earnings.
• AI ATS Resume Matching & Gap Analysis: Chain-of-Thought evaluation powered by Google Gemini API using a 4-pillar weighted rubric (Technical Skills 40% with partial credit for adjacent technologies, Work Experience 35%, Seniority & Scope 15%, Education & Certifications 10%) with actionable strengths and gap breakdowns.
• AI Salary Benchmarking & Market Reality Check: AI estimation of localized Philippine market rates with high/low salary bands and detailed industry context.
• AI Interview Coaching & Prep: Context-aware generation of common interview questions, role-specific talking points, and tactical preparation tips tailored to the target job description.
• AI Follow-Up Assistant & Draft Generator: Generates professional follow-up email drafts based on elapsed days, contact history, and application status.
• Side-by-Side Offer Comparison Matrix: Weighted decision matrix to evaluate multiple job offers across net pay, HMO/benefits, commute/remote flexibility, work-life balance, and career growth potential.
• Smart Action Feed & Stale Alert Detection: Proactive notification feed identifying overdue follow-ups, upcoming interviews, stagnant applications (>14 days without activity), and weekly goal milestones.
• Document Studio & ATS Resume Builder: Structured resume profile builder, section-by-section AI polisher with strong action verbs and quantifiable metrics, AI cover letter generator with tone presets (Polish, Concise, Formal), and versioned snapshot archives.
• Visual Schedule Calendar: Interactive calendar view for interview deadlines, follow-up dates, and recruitment milestones.
• Performance Analytics & Conversion Funnel: Data-driven visualizations with Recharts tracking funnel conversion rates, 12-week application volume trends, status distributions over time, salary expectations vs. offer bands, and response velocity.
• Recruiter Contact CRM: Centralized directory for hiring managers, HR contacts, and recruiters linked directly to target job applications.
• Data Portability & Import/Export: Secure JSON and CSV data export and bulk import with validation and deduplication safeguards.
• Administrative Command Center & AI Telemetry: User administration, role toggling, granular per-user AI quota management, token usage logs, cost tracking, and legal document markdown editing.

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Tech Stack

Backend

• Framework: PHP 8.4, Laravel 13 (Latest release with Model strictness and Transaction Middleware)
• Monolith SPA Bridge: Inertia.js v3 (Server-side rendering, typed props, zero-API boilerplate)
• Authentication & Security: Laravel Fortify, Laravel Socialite v5 (Google OAuth), Cloudflare Turnstile bot defense
• Routing & Type Generation: Laravel Wayfinder v0 (Auto-generated TypeScript functions for backend routes and actions)
• Code Quality & Testing: Pest PHP v4, Larastan v3 (PHPStan Level 8), Laravel Pint v1

Frontend

• Framework & Runtime: React 19, TypeScript 5.7, Vite 8, @vitejs/plugin-react with React Compiler support
• Client Routing & SPA: Inertia.js v3 React Client (@inertiajs/react)
• Styling & Design System: Tailwind CSS v4, @tailwindcss/vite, CSS custom properties for dynamic light/dark/system themes
• UI Components: Radix UI primitives / Base UI (@base-ui/react), Lucide React icons, Sonner toast notifications
• Drag & Drop: @dnd-kit/core, @dnd-kit/sortable, @dnd-kit/utilities
• Data Visualization: Recharts 3.8 (Responsive Bar, Line, Pie, and Funnel charts)
• Forms & Validation: Zod schemas, React state management, Inertia form helpers

Database & Caching

• Database: PostgreSQL / SQLite (Strict foreign keys, indexed query columns, relational transactions)
• AI Prompt Caching: SHA-256 hashed response caching (AiCacheService) with database persistence (ai_response_caches) and automated heuristic fallbacks

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Architecture & Code Highlights

aplayan/
├── app/
│   ├── Enums/               # Strict PHP Enums (JobApplicationStatus, Priority, RemoteType, etc.)
│   ├── Http/
│   │   ├── Controllers/     # Single-responsibility & resource controllers (Admin, Auth, User)
│   │   ├── Middleware/      # Turnstile verification, admin gating, transaction management
│   │   └── Requests/        # Form Requests for validated input (Never inline validation)
│   ├── Models/              # Strict Eloquent models with fillable attributes & relationships
│   └── Services/            # Isolated business logic layer
│       ├── ActionFeedService.php              # Smart proactive assistant & alerts
│       ├── AiCacheService.php                 # Prompt hashing, deduplication & quota manager
│       ├── AnalyticsService.php               # Funnel, volume & salary aggregation algorithms
│       ├── FxExchangeService.php              # Multi-currency FX conversion & caching
│       ├── GeminiService.php                  # Google Gemini API integration & prompt engineering
│       └── PhilippineTaxCalculatorService.php # BIR TRAIN Law, SSS, PhilHealth & Pag-IBIG engine
├── database/
│   ├── factories/           # Comprehensive model factories for reliable testing
│   ├── migrations/          # Indexed relational schema definitions
│   └── seeders/             # Database seeders with test accounts & default data
├── resources/js/
│   ├── actions/             # Wayfinder auto-generated typed controller action invokers
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── domain/          # Business-specific shared components (Tax modals, resume viewers)
│   │   ├── job-applications/# Application cards, Kanban boards, AI Copilot tabs, activity logs
│   │   ├── landing/         # Interactive landing widgets (Pay calculator, ATS simulator, FAQ)
│   │   └── ui/              # Reusable presentational primitives (Button, Dialog, Sheet, Dropdown)
│   ├── pages/               # Inertia page views structured strictly by role & domain module
│   │   ├── admin/           # Admin dashboard, user management, AI usage telemetry, legal editor
│   │   ├── analytics/       # Visual conversion funnels, volume charts, salary analytics
│   │   ├── auth/            # Login, Register, Forgot/Reset Password, Verify Email
│   │   ├── calendar/        # Interview & deadline calendar interface
│   │   ├── contacts/        # Recruiter & networking CRM
│   │   ├── documents/       # Resume profile studio, saved versions, AI cover letter generator
│   │   ├── goals/           # Weekly application goals & streak tracking
│   │   ├── job-applications/# Main Kanban/list view, application details, offer comparison
│   │   └── templates/       # Custom application templates & boilerplate notes
│   └── types/               # TypeScript type definitions matching backend models & schemas
└── tests/
    ├── Feature/             # Pest PHP Feature tests covering full user journeys & edge cases
    └── Unit/                # Unit tests verifying tax math, FX rates, and AI fallback services

Architectural Principles

• No API Boilerplate (Inertia v3): Endpoints directly return Inertia views with typed server-side data, combining the DX of a modern React SPA with the security and velocity of Laravel.
• Service Layer Isolation: Complex algorithms (tax math, foreign exchange conversions, AI prompt orchestration, analytics caching) are encapsulated into dedicated, unit-tested Service classes.
• Strict Eloquent Configuration: Model lazy loading is strictly prevented in non-production environments to completely eliminate N+1 query performance bottlenecks.
• Resilient AI Pipeline with Hashing & Heuristic Fallbacks: AI prompts are hashed via SHA-256 and cached to avoid redundant API fees and reduce latency. When the AI API is unreachable or quotas are exhausted, AiFallbackService activates keyword and heuristic analysis to ensure zero UI disruption.
• Comprehensive Rate Limiting: Dedicated throttle buckets protect database writes, authentication attempts, PDF/data exports, and AI generation endpoints.

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Full Feature Breakdown

1. Job Application Tracker & Kanban Board

• Dual View Modes: Seamlessly switch between an interactive drag-and-drop Kanban board (@dnd-kit) and a dense, filterable list table.
• Lifecycle Stages: Manage applications across 5 native stages: Wishlist, Applied, Interviewing, Offer, and Rejected.
• Granular Metadata: Track company name, role title, job location, work arrangement (Remote, On-site, Hybrid), priority (Low, Medium, High), job posting URL, and application deadlines.
• Comprehensive Activity Log: Automatic and manual event tracking (status changes, follow-up emails sent, interview scheduled, note added) with chronological timeline visualization.
• Stale Alert Indicators: Automatic visual badge notifications for applications with no recorded activity for 14+ days.

2. Philippine Statutory Tax & Take-Home Pay Engine

• BIR TRAIN Law Calculation: Precise progressive tax computation across all statutory brackets with excess tax rates.
• 2025/2026 SSS Tiered Matrix: Exact monthly employee contribution calculations based on official Social Security System compensation brackets.
• PhilHealth 5% Premium: Accurate 2.5% employee share deduction with statutory ceiling limits.
• Pag-IBIG Fund Computations: Mandatory standard contributions (₱100 / ₱200 cap) plus custom voluntary MP2/regular additions.
• 13th-Month Pay Exemption: Non-taxable ceiling computation up to the ₱90,000 threshold.
• Custom Deductions & Allowances: Add non-taxable de minimis allowances (rice allowance, medical, uniform) and other taxable allowances or custom company deductions.
• Per-Application & Global Defaults: Configure baseline tax settings in user profile settings or customize tax parameters per individual job application.

3. Multi-Currency FX Engine & Global Remote Support

• Multi-Currency Tracking: Record salary expectations and job offers in PHP, USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, SGD, JPY, or CAD.
• Automated Currency Conversion: Powered by FxExchangeService to normalize all global salaries into PHP for unified analytics and side-by-side comparison.
• Take-Home Reality Check: Instantly view how a USD $3,000/month remote contract converts to net monthly PHP after local tax deductions and bank fees.

4. Google Gemini AI ATS Resume Matcher & Career Copilot

• 4-Pillar Weighted Rubric:
  • Technical Skills & Tech Stack (40%): Direct keyword and stack analysis with 75% partial credit for adjacent technologies (e.g., React to Next.js, MySQL to PostgreSQL).
  • Work Experience & Relevance (35%): Experience duration, industry alignment, and responsibility scope.
  • Seniority & Responsibility (15%): Career level alignment (Junior, Mid, Senior, Lead).
  • Education & Certifications (10%): Degree match, professional certifications, and soft skill signals.
• Actionable Gap Analysis: Highlights exact matching strengths and concrete missing keywords needed to beat ATS scanners.
• AI Salary Benchmarking: Synthesizes job title, location, and description to provide realistic PHP monthly salary ranges and market context.
• AI Interview Preparation Coach: Auto-generates role-tailored technical and behavioral interview questions, talking points, and tactical preparation tips.
• Smart Follow-Up Drafter: Crafts culturally appropriate, polite follow-up emails tuned to the number of days since last contact.

5. Side-by-Side Offer Comparison Matrix

• Comparative Decision Matrix: View multiple job offers side-by-side on a unified scorecard.
• Customizable Weighted Scoring: Score offers based on personal priorities (Net Salary, Health Insurance/HMO, Commute/Remote Flexibility, Work-Life Balance, Growth Opportunities).
• Net Pay Comparison: Directly compares statutory net take-home pay, total allowances, and annualized 13th-month earnings across employers.

6. Document Studio & ATS Resume Builder

• Structured Resume Builder: Store and organize complete resume profiles (Personal Summary, Work History, Education, Skills, Projects, and Certifications).
• AI Section Polisher: Enhance bullet points with strong action verbs, professional tone, and quantified metrics.
• AI Cover Letter Synthesizer: Generate tailored cover letters customized for target job descriptions with adjustable tone presets:
  • Polish: Refines grammar, spelling, and narrative flow.
  • Concise: Cuts fluff while preserving critical impact.
  • Formal: Elevates tone for executive or corporate roles.
• Versioned Document Snapshots: Save and manage multiple versions of resumes and cover letters tailored for different roles.

7. Smart Action Feed & Calendar

• Proactive Dashboard Feed: Centralized list of high-priority daily actions (overdue follow-ups, upcoming interviews, stagnant leads).
• Interactive Calendar View: Schedule and visualize interview appointments, application deadlines, and follow-up milestones.

8. Career Analytics & Funnel Insights

• Conversion Funnel Visualization: Visual funnel from Wishlist -> Applied -> Interviewing -> Offer.
• 12-Week Application Velocity: Rolling weekly application volume charts to monitor search momentum.
• Salary Distribution Bands: Group expected vs. offered compensation across customizable income brackets.
• Response Velocity Tracking: Measures average days between application submission and employer first response.

9. Weekly Application Goals & Streak Tracking

• Target Quotas: Set weekly application targets and monitor live progress bars.
• Momentum Streaks: Track continuous weekly active search streaks to stay accountable.

10. Recruiter & Professional Contact CRM

• Contact Directory: Store recruiter names, roles, company affiliations, email addresses, phone numbers, and LinkedIn URLs.
• Relational Linking: Link contacts directly to job applications to maintain context during interview stages.

11. Application Templates

• Reusable Application Blueprints: Create preset templates with default notes, checklist items, and standard responses for recurring job types.

12. Admin Command Center & AI Telemetry

• User Management: Search users, toggle roles (Admin / User), activate/deactivate accounts, and delete records.
• Per-User AI Quota Controls: Enable/disable AI features per user and configure daily generation limits.
• AI Token & Cost Telemetry: Real-time logging of prompt tokens, candidate tokens, total usage, and estimated API costs.
• Legal Document Management: In-app markdown editor for Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

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🔌 Third-Party API & Service Integrations

1. Google Gemini AI API

• Endpoint: https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models
• Supported Models: gemini-1.5-flash, gemini-1.5-pro, gemini-2.5-flash
• Implementation: App\Services\GeminiService
• Capabilities: ATS resume matching with Chain-of-Thought prompting, salary estimation, interview coaching, section polishing, and cover letter synthesis.
• Reliability: Built-in connection timeouts, retry backoff (100ms, 500ms), and automatic fallback to AiFallbackService.

2. Google OAuth (Laravel Socialite)

• Implementation: App\Http\Controllers\Auth\SocialiteController
• Capabilities: One-click Google authentication, automatic user provisioning, and verified email sync.

3. Cloudflare Turnstile

• Implementation: App\Services\TurnstileVerifyService & App\Http\Middleware\VerifyTurnstile
• Capabilities: Invisible bot defense on user registration and authentication endpoints.

4. Foreign Exchange (FX) Services

• Implementation: App\Services\FxExchangeService
• Capabilities: Currency normalization across 8 major fiat currencies with cached exchange rates.

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Local Development Setup

1. Prerequisites

• PHP 8.3+ (PHP 8.4 recommended) with extensions: pdo, mbstring, bcmath, fileinfo, gd, zip
• Composer 2.x
• Node.js 20+ & npm
• PostgreSQL 15+ or SQLite 3

2. Clone and Install

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/codebykenth/aplayan.git
cd aplayan

# Automated setup (installs PHP & JS dependencies, copies .env, generates key, runs migrations)
composer setup

Or execute manual step-by-step installation:

composer install
npm install
cp .env.example .env
php artisan key:generate
php artisan migrate --seed

3. Environment Configuration

Edit your .env file with your local database and API credentials:

# Application
APP_NAME="Aplayan"
APP_ENV=local
APP_KEY=base64:...
APP_DEBUG=true
APP_URL=http://localhost:8000

# Database (PostgreSQL or SQLite)
DB_CONNECTION=pgsql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=5432
DB_DATABASE=aplayan
DB_USERNAME=postgres
DB_PASSWORD=your_password

# AI Services (Google Gemini API)
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_gemini_api_key_here
GEMINI_MODEL=gemini-1.5-flash

# Google OAuth (Optional)
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_google_client_id
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_google_client_secret
GOOGLE_REDIRECT_URI="${APP_URL}/auth/google/callback"

# Cloudflare Turnstile (Optional for local development)
TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY=your_turnstile_site_key
TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY=your_turnstile_secret_key

4. Start Development Servers

composer run dev

This starts all necessary processes concurrently:

• Laravel HTTP Server: http://127.0.0.1:8000
• Queue Listener: php artisan queue:listen --tries=1 --timeout=0
• Vite Dev Server: Hot Module Replacement (HMR) for React and Tailwind CSS

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Automated Tests & Code Quality

The project includes an extensive suite of automated tests and static analysis tools.

# Run the complete test suite (Pest PHP)
php artisan test

# Run tests with compact output
php artisan test --compact

# Run a specific feature test
php artisan test --filter=JobApplicationTest

# Run static analysis (PHPStan / Larastan)
npm run types:check
# or: vendor/bin/phpstan analyse

# Run PHP code style fixer (Laravel Pint)
npm run lint
# or: vendor/bin/pint --parallel

# Run frontend linting & formatting checks
npm run lint:check
npm run format:check

# Run full CI check suite (lint + format + types + tests)
composer ci:check

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Deployment

Aplayan is architected for seamless containerized deployment via Docker, Laravel Cloud, or modern PaaS providers (Render, Fly.io, Railway, AWS, DigitalOcean).

Production Build

# Compile and optimize frontend assets
npm run build

# Cache backend configurations and routes
php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:cache
php artisan event:cache

# Run database migrations
php artisan migrate --force

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Author

Crafted by Kenth.