Catalyst

Turn opportunities into offers.

Catalyst is a full-stack web app designed to help students and early-career professionals organize, track, and manage their internship, fellowship, and job applications. Built with Next.js, TypeScript, Prisma, tRPC, ShadCN, and Auth.js, it features a clean UI, drag-and-drop Kanban board, advanced filtering, and recruiter/network contact management.

Live Demo

Features

• User profile - create goals, mananage weekly streak goals, upload resume
• Add, edit, and delete applications — track status, recruiter contacts, and markdown notes
• AI generated company research - interview prep with company overview, role analysis, recent developments, and questions tailor to role and company
• Kanban-style board — visually manage applications through different stages
• Saved applications — never lose track of the ones you don't finish
• Favorite applications — mark top opportunities for easy reference
• Dynamic filtering — search and filter by company, status, and favorite
• Company + network database — automatically create or select from existing
• User authentication — secure, personalized data with Auth.js
• Responsive design — works seamlessly on desktop and mobile

Current Tech Stack

• Next.js + TypeScript
• Prisma ORM + PostgreSQL database powerhouse
• tRPC API layer
• ShadCN/UI Tailwind CSS components
• React Hook Form + Zod for validation
• Auth.js + GitHub, Google, and LinkedIn OAuth for authentication

Screenshots

• Site Home Page

• Dashboard Landing Page

• Kanban Board Page

• Favorites Page

• Find Opportunities Page

• Add Internship Modal

Current Status

This project is actively in development. Core product is built and ready for test users. Next up is to add analytics and expand on feature development.

Getting Started

Clone the repo:

git clone https://github.com/akeight/careercatalyst.git
cd careercatalyst

Install dependencies:

npm install

Configure authentication environment variables (see .env.example for the full list and per-environment notes):

# Either AUTH_SECRET or NEXTAUTH_SECRET works (the app reads AUTH_SECRET first,
# then falls back to NEXTAUTH_SECRET). Generate with: openssl rand -base64 32
NEXTAUTH_SECRET=
AUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000
NEXTAUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000

# OAuth is optional for local development — sign in with the dev-credentials
# provider below. Configure these only if you register a localhost OAuth app.
# GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=
# GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=
# GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=
# GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=
# LINKEDIN_CLIENT_ID=
# LINKEDIN_CLIENT_SECRET=

# Local development only. Defaults are dev@example.com / password.
DEV_AUTH_EMAIL=dev@example.com
DEV_AUTH_PASSWORD=password
DEV_AUTH_NAME=Dev User

Run the dev server:

npm run dev

Future Plans

• AI-powered suggestions (e.g., resume tips, matching internships)
• Calendar integrated with push notifications

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