Run Your Own Private Resume Builder in Minutes

// Before you start

What you need

Docker Desktop installed and running (docker.com/products/docker-desktop)
Git installed (git-scm.com)
A terminal / command prompt (Terminal on Mac, Command Prompt or PowerShell on Windows)
About 2 GB of free disk space for the Docker images

Step 1 of 6

Clone the project to your computer

2 min

This downloads a copy of the Reactive Resume source code — specifically just the latest snapshot, which is faster than grabbing the full history. You end up with a folder called 'reactive-resume' on your machine.

Terminal · mac

$ git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/amruthpillai/reactive-resume.git

$ cd reactive-resume

What you should see

Cloning into 'reactive-resume'... resolving deltas: 100% ... done.

This might happen

'git' is not recognized as a command

Git is not installed. Download and install it from https://git-scm.com, then open a fresh terminal and try again.

Step 2 of 6

Start all services with Docker

5–10 min (first run downloads images)

This single command tells Docker to download and start everything Reactive Resume needs: the app itself and a PostgreSQL database. The '-d' flag runs them in the background so your terminal stays free. The first run takes a few minutes while Docker pulls the images; future starts are much faster.

Terminal · mac

$ docker compose up -d

What you should see

✔ Container reactive-resume-postgres-1 Started ✔ Container reactive-resume-app-1 Started

This might happen

Error: 'docker compose' command not found, or Docker daemon is not running

Make sure Docker Desktop is open and the whale icon is visible in your system tray / menu bar. On older Docker versions try 'docker-compose up -d' (with a hyphen).

Step 3 of 6

Open the app in your browser

1 min

Once the containers are running, the app is available at a local address on port 3000. Paste the URL below into any browser. If the page doesn't load immediately, wait 30 seconds and refresh — the app sometimes needs a moment to finish starting up.

Terminal · mac

$ open http://localhost:3000

What you should see

The Reactive Resume welcome screen loads in your browser.

This might happen

'open' is not a recognized command on Windows

On Windows, skip this command and just type http://localhost:3000 directly into your browser's address bar.

Step 4 of 6

Create an account and build your resume

10–30 min

Click 'Create an Account' on the welcome screen. Because this is your own private instance, your data stays on your machine — nothing is sent to any external server. Once logged in, click 'Create Resume', choose a template from the gallery (there are 15+), and fill in your details. The right panel shows a live preview as you type. Drag sections up or down to reorder them.

Terminal · mac

$ No command needed — use the browser interface.

What you should see

A live preview of your resume updates in real time as you fill in each section.

Step 5 of 6

Export your finished resume to PDF

1 min

When you are happy with the result, click the download icon in the top toolbar and choose PDF. As of version 5.1.0, PDF generation happens entirely inside your browser — no external service is needed. The file saves to your normal Downloads folder.

Terminal · mac

$ No command needed — use the Download button in the app toolbar.

What you should see

A PDF file appears in your Downloads folder.

This might happen

The PDF looks different from the on-screen preview

Try a different browser (Chrome or Edge tend to produce the most accurate output). Also check that your browser's zoom level is set to 100%.

Step 6 of 6

Stop the app when you are done

1 min

Running Docker containers use memory and CPU even when you are not actively using the app. This command shuts everything down cleanly. Your resume data is saved in the database volume, so it will still be there next time you run 'docker compose up -d'.

Terminal · mac

$ docker compose down

What you should see

✔ Container reactive-resume-app-1 Stopped ✔ Container reactive-resume-postgres-1 Stopped

// Status

cooked. baked. worked.

A fully working, private resume builder running on your own computer at http://localhost:3000, with your resume exported as a PDF ready to send to employers.

// the honest bit

The honest part

This guide runs Reactive Resume on your local machine only — it is not accessible from the internet. If you want to share your resume via a public link, you need to deploy it to a server (a VPS, Fly.io, etc.) and configure a domain and HTTPS, which requires extra steps not covered here. AI writing-assist features (OpenAI, Gemini, Claude) require you to supply your own API keys by editing environment variables in the docker-compose file — that involves a small amount of text editing. The app is actively developed; occasional breaking changes between versions are possible.