A tailored CV for every job.
Nothing invented.
Apply Kit turns Claude Code into a careful application writer. It checks every job ad honestly and writes your CV and cover letter from facts you confirmed, as print-ready PDFs.
Free and open source (MIT) · Runs on your computer · English and German
On your phone? Apply Kit needs a computer. Send yourself the link and look at it later at your desk.
Email me the link
> I want to apply to Kestrel Logistics. Here is the ad.
Fit check · Senior Product Manager, Carrier Platform
Skills strong fit · Role matches your target
✓ “User interviews yourself” → weekly dispatcher interviews
✓ “SQL and product analytics” → SQL and Looker
! Hybrid, two office days a week in Munich
Numbers check · CV_Kestrel.md
✓ all 5 numbers confirmed in your profile
Rendered Lena_Hoffmann_CV_Kestrel.pdf (2 pages)
- 89
- applications · Feb to Jun 2026
- 65
- tailored CVs
- 42
- rejections
- 7
- interviews landed
How it works
One profile. A fresh application for every job.
Set up once in about 15 minutes. Then paste an ad: Claude checks the fit, writes the documents and renders the PDFs.
Your career, once, as one timeline
Claude reads your old CV and LinkedIn PDF, lays everything out and asks about every date that doesn’t add up.
- 2021 to nowSenior PM · Frachtwerk
- 2017 to 2021Product Owner · Stadtwerke
- 2013 to 2016Business Analyst · Kerner
An honest fit check first
Skills and role judged separately, so a job you could do but shouldn’t want gets called out.
- SkillsStrong fit
- RoleBelow your target
Every number checked
Before any PDF is made, each number is matched against your profile.
- ✓ CV_Kestrel.md · 5 of 5 confirmed
- ! CoverLetter_Kestrel.md · “25%” not in profile
Real PDFs, in English or German
Selectable text in reading order, the right conventions for an Anschreiben, letters fitted to one page.
Free and open source
MIT licensed, on GitHub. Read every line, change what you like.
starburst1977/apply-kitWhy it exists
I built Apply Kit for my own job search. Those numbers are the real ones, counted from my own applications tracker, rejections included.
Somewhere in there my CVs started contradicting each other: a date in one version, a different one in the next, a result that was 35% here and 40% there. So I rebuilt the whole process around one rule: nothing goes into an application unless I’ve confirmed it. The first time I ran the finished kit on myself, it found errors in my own CV.
Product designer near Munich
Free ATS check
Can a parser read your CV?
Drop in any CV PDF. See the text an applicant tracking system extracts, in the order it reads it, with a score from 0 to 100.
- Nothing is uploaded
- Result in seconds
- Free, no sign-up
Layouts
Nine layouts. One is free.
Classic comes with the kit. The Layout Pack adds eight more for 19 €, from a tabular DIN 5008 CV to two-column pages with a photo.
One-time purchase · Needs the free kit 1.1.1 or newer
Real examples
Open the PDFs
Made with the kit for Lena Hoffmann, a fictional product manager in logistics. Every number traces back to her profile. The text is real and selectable, exactly as a recruiter receives it.
What you need
- The Claude desktop app, with a Claude plan that includes Claude Code
- Node.js, free, installed in a few minutes. The kit’s README walks you through it
- Your current CV as a PDF. A LinkedIn profile saved as PDF helps too
Your data
Everything stays in one folder on your computer. The kit has no account, no server and no cloud storage. The only place your information goes is to Claude, during your conversation, under your own Claude plan.
FAQ
Questions
Does it work in the normal Claude chat?
No. It needs Claude Code, which comes with the Claude desktop app, because it makes the PDFs on your computer. You need a Claude plan that includes Claude Code.
Is it really free?
Yes. The kit is MIT licensed and on GitHub. It runs on your own Claude plan, so the only cost is the Claude plan you already have.
What’s in the Layout Pack, and do I need it?
Eight more layouts for 19 €, from a tabular DIN 5008 CV to two-column one-page designs. You don’t need it: Classic does the job. The pack is for a different look, a photo, or a formal German letter. See every layout.
Can I add a photo?
Yes, in Statement, Mono, Sidebar and Poster. It is off by default: most CVs go without one today, in Germany too, and in the UK or US a photo can count against you.
What if it doesn’t work for me?
Open an issue on GitHub or email me@svenread.com and tell me where it stopped. A screenshot helps.
I’m not a designer. Is it for me?
Yes. The examples come from a product manager in logistics. It works for any role where a CV and a cover letter matter.
Will recruiters know Claude wrote it?
It writes from your own facts, in your own voice, and you read and approve everything before it goes out. It’s your application; Claude does the drafting.
Can I use it for German applications?
Yes, in both directions. It picks the language from the job ad and follows German conventions for the Anschreiben.
Does it run on Windows?
Claude Code and Node.js both run on Windows, so it should. It has been tested on macOS so far.
Your next application, written from what you’ve actually done.
Free, open source, runs on your computer.