AI-Powered Internship Tracker & Career Acceleration Platform

From applied to offered — track every application, predict career paths, analyze resumes with ATS intelligence, and prepare for interviews with AI.

Features • Architecture • Tech Stack • Screenshots • Getting Started • API Reference • Roadmap

Engineering and CS students apply to 30–60+ companies every internship and placement season. Most manage this crucial career milestone across messy Excel sheets, bookmarked job links, notes apps, and WhatsApp forwards:

• ❓ Which companies replied vs. ghosted?
• ⏳ Who needs a follow-up email after 7 days?
• 📉 Why isn't my resume clearing the ATS filters for specific roles?
• 🧠 What exact interview questions will a company ask tomorrow?
• 🎯 Which skills am I missing for the roles I'm applying to?

Tracktern brings the entire student job-hunting lifecycle into one unified command center: from smart Kanban application tracking to Groq-powered AI interview prep, ATS resume analysis, career roadmap prediction, and automated follow-ups.

• Interactive Kanban Board: Move applications across Wishlist, Applied, Shortlisted, Interview, Offer, and Rejected.
• Deep Metadata: Track company types (Startup, Product, MNC), deadlines, direct job URLs, referral contacts, and interview notes.
• Instant Filtering & Search: Filter by status, company type, deadline urgency, or search terms.

• Smart Role Matching: Input your current tech stack, graduation year, and interests.
• Role Match Score: AI scores your fit across 20+ software engineering & data roles.
• Gap Breakdown & Roadmap: Highlights matching skills, missing gaps, and a step-by-step upskilling roadmap.
• Direct Job Shortcuts: One-click targeted search links on LinkedIn, Naukri, Internshala, and Indeed.

• Company & Role-Specific Prep: Generates top 10 targeted technical & behavioral interview questions.
• 3-Day Actionable Prep Plan: Day-by-day study roadmap tailored to the target role's tech stack.
• Interactive Mock Simulator: Answer interview questions with instant AI evaluation, scoring rubrics, and detailed feedback.
• Powered by Groq Cloud: Sub-second LLM inference via llama-3.3-70b-versatile.

• Client-Side Parsing: Safely parses .pdf and .docx resumes using pdfjs-dist and mammoth.
• ATS Compatibility Score: Scored out of 100 with actionable feedback on layout, keywords, impact verbs, and quantified metrics.
• Role-Targeted Match: Compares your resume against target job requirements to reveal missing keywords before applying.

• Funnel Visualization: Track drop-offs from Applied → Shortlisted → Interview → Offer.
• Company Type Distribution: Analyze success rates across Startups vs. Product companies vs. MNCs.
• Key Metrics: Application velocity, interview conversion rate, average response time, and active pipeline volume.

• Missing Skills Matrix: Aggregates all your applied roles and reveals top missing skills prioritized by demand.
• Consistency Tracker: Streak counter and daily activity heatmap to maintain momentum.
• Problem Practice Tracker: Track DSA problem sets and interview revisions.

• Ghosting Tracker: Automatically flags applications waiting longer than 7 days without updates.
• AI Follow-Up Drafter: Generates personalized emails in multiple tones (Professional, Enthusiastic, Inquiring) ready for one-click copy.
• Nodemailer Integration: Built-in verification and notification support.

• Visual Calendar: Never miss an upcoming OA (Online Assessment), technical interview, or deadline.
• Interview Journal: Log questions asked, difficulty ratings, and interviewer feedback.
• Community Question Bank: Explore anonymized peer interview experiences.

AI Career Path Predictor	Application Kanban Board

AI Mock Interview	Analytics & Pipeline Health

Daily Practice & Consistency	Career Match Results

graph TD
    subgraph Client ["Frontend (Next.js 16 + React 19)"]
        UI[Tailwind CSS + Radix UI + Recharts]
        Parser[Client-side PDF / DOCX Parser]
        AuthC[Auth Context & JWT Store]
    end

    subgraph Server ["Backend (Node.js + Express.js)"]
        API[Express REST API]
        AuthS[JWT Auth + Bcrypt + OTP Verification]
        Controllers[Company, Career, Prep & Journal Controllers]
    end

    subgraph External ["External Services"]
        Mongo[(MongoDB Atlas)]
        Groq[Groq Cloud API - Llama 3.3 70B]
        SMTP[Nodemailer - Gmail SMTP]
    end

    UI -->|HTTP / JSON + Bearer Token| API
    Parser --> UI
    API --> AuthS
    API --> Controllers
    Controllers --> Mongo
    Controllers -->|Fast LLM Inference| Groq
    AuthS -->|OTP & Alerts| SMTP

• Framework: Next.js 16 (App Router, Turbopack)
• Library: React 19 + TypeScript
• Styling: Tailwind CSS v4
• UI Components: Radix UI (shadcn/ui primitives), Lucide React
• Charts & Data: Recharts
• Document Parsing: pdfjs-dist (PDF parsing) & mammoth (DOCX parsing)
• Feedback & Animations: Sonner, vaul, tw-animate-css

• Runtime: Node.js
• Framework: Express.js 5
• Database: MongoDB via Mongoose 9
• Security & Auth: JSON Web Tokens (jsonwebtoken), bcryptjs, CORS
• Mailing: Nodemailer

• LLM Engine: Groq Cloud running llama-3.3-70b-versatile
• Backend Hosting: Render (https://tracktern-27b8.onrender.com)
• Frontend Hosting: Vercel

Tracktern/
├── client/                     # Next.js 16 Frontend
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── (dashboard)/        # Authenticated App Routes
│   │   │   ├── ai-prep/        # Role & company interview prep
│   │   │   ├── analytics/      # Funnel & pipeline analytics
│   │   │   ├── applications/   # Kanban board & application list
│   │   │   ├── calendar/       # Interview & deadline calendar
│   │   │   ├── career-path/    # AI career predictor & job links
│   │   │   ├── community/      # Community interview experiences
│   │   │   ├── dashboard/      # Primary stats & overview
│   │   │   ├── follow-up/      # Smart follow-up email drafts
│   │   │   ├── journal/        # Personal interview journal
│   │   │   ├── mock-interview/ # AI mock interview simulator
│   │   │   ├── practice/       # Daily DSA & consistency tracker
│   │   │   ├── resume-analyzer/# ATS resume scoring & keyword check
│   │   │   ├── settings/       # Account & profile management
│   │   │   └── skill-gap/      # Skill matrix & gap analytics
│   │   ├── auth/               # Sign in, Sign up, OTP verification
│   │   ├── layout.tsx          # Root layout & providers
│   │   └── page.tsx            # Marketing landing page
│   ├── components/             # Reusable UI & layout components
│   ├── hooks/                  # Custom React hooks
│   ├── lib/                    # API client, utilities, and helpers
│   ├── public/                 # Static assets & screenshots
│   └── package.json
│
├── server/                     # Node.js + Express Backend
│   ├── models/                 # Mongoose Data Models
│   │   ├── CareerProfile.js    # Career paths & skill profiles
│   │   ├── Company.js          # Tracked job applications
│   │   ├── Journal.js          # Interview question logs
│   │   └── User.js             # User accounts, streaks, OTPs
│   ├── routes/                 # Express API Endpoints
│   │   ├── ai.js               # Prep plans & follow-up generator
│   │   ├── auth.js             # Register, login, OTP, passwords
│   │   ├── career.js           # Career predictions & roadmaps
│   │   ├── community.js        # Public interview logs
│   │   ├── companies.js        # Application CRUD & statuses
│   │   ├── journal.js          # Journal CRUD
│   │   └── mock-interview.js   # AI mock interview engine
│   ├── index.js                # Server entry point
│   └── package.json
│
└── README.md

Follow these instructions to set up Tracktern locally on your machine.

Ensure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (v18.x or v20.x recommended)
• npm or pnpm
• MongoDB (Local instance or free MongoDB Atlas cluster)
• Groq API Key (Free tier available)

git clone https://github.com/ayushoncode/Tracktern.git
cd Tracktern

1. Navigate to the server folder:

   cd server

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create your .env file from the example template:

   cp .env.example .env

4. Populate the .env variables:

   PORT=5002
   MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@cluster.mongodb.net/tracktern?retryWrites=true&w=majority
   JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_jwt_key_here
   EMAIL=[email protected]
   EMAIL_PASS=your_gmail_app_password
   GROQ_API_KEY=gsk_your_groq_api_key_here
   LOG_OTP=true
   ALLOW_OTP_IN_RESPONSE=false

   Note on Gmail SMTP: If using Gmail, generate a 16-character App Password via Google Account → Security → 2-Step Verification → App Passwords.

5. Start the backend server:

   npm start

   The backend will be running at http://localhost:5002. Verify by visiting http://localhost:5002/api/health.

1. Open a new terminal and navigate to the client folder:

   cd client

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create your .env.local file:

   cp .env.example .env.local

4. Ensure your API URL is configured:

   NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:5002/api

5. Start the development server:

   npm run dev

6. Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser to experience Tracktern!

• Next.js 16 + React 19 migration with full modern design system
• ATS Resume Analyzer with client-side PDF/DOCX parsing
• AI Career Predictor with direct job portal shortcuts
• AI Mock Interview Coach powered by Groq Llama 3.3
• Interactive Kanban Board with company categories and notes
• Smart Follow-up Drafter with ghosting detection
• Automated Gmail Sync: Auto-detect status updates directly from incoming emails via Gmail OAuth2
• Browser Extension: 1-click application saving directly from LinkedIn, Internshala, and Wellfound
• Peer Mock Rooms: Real-time peer-to-peer mock interview rooms with video & collaborative coding pad
• Mobile App: Cross-platform React Native companion app for on-the-go deadline alerts

Contributions are what make the open-source community such an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create. Any contributions you make are greatly appreciated!

1. Fork the Project
2. Create your Feature Branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your Changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the Branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.

Created with ❤️ by Ayush (@ayushoncode).

• Built with Next.js, Tailwind CSS, and Groq Cloud.
• Icons provided by Lucide.
• Components inspired by shadcn/ui.