At a Glance:
Reqcore is a self-hosted, open-source applicant tracking system with no per-seat fees, built on a modern Nuxt 4 stack with a Kanban pipeline, public job board, custom application forms, and S3-compatible document storage.
Overview:
Reqcore is a lightweight, open-source applicant tracking system (ATS) designed for teams that want hiring software without per-seat pricing or vendor lock-in. It is self-hosted and runs on a single VPS using Docker Compose. The project provides core hiring workflows including job management from draft to archive, a drag-and-drop candidate pipeline with Kanban stages from screening to hire, a public SEO-friendly job board, custom application forms per job, and document storage via MinIO. It supports multi-tenant organizations with role-based membership and isolates data per organization. Reqcore is actively developed with a modern Nuxt 4 / Vue 3 stack, and several features including resume parsing and local AI ranking via Ollama are on the near-term roadmap.
Key Decision Points:
Self-hosted single-VPS deployment: Designed to run on a single VPS with Docker Compose, Caddy as reverse proxy, and recommended Hetzner Cloud CX23 specs, keeping infrastructure simple.
Kanban-style candidate pipeline: Progress candidates through screening, interview, offer, and hired stages using a drag-and-drop board, not rigid workflow automations.
Multi-tenant with role-based access: Each organization’s data is fully isolated, and membership is managed through roles within the Better Auth organization plugin.
Public-facing job board included: Jobs are published with SEO-friendly custom slugs and support custom application forms per listing, with all resume access authenticated and streamed rather than publicly exposed.
Roadmap-gated features: Resume parsing and local AI-powered candidate ranking via Ollama are planned but not yet shipped, and the project is in active early development.
Core Features:
Job management: Create and track jobs through lifecycle states including draft, open, closed, and archived.
Candidate pipeline: Drag-and-drop Kanban board that moves applicants through screening, interview, offer, and hired stages.
Public job board: SEO-friendly job listings with custom slugs where applicants can browse and submit applications.
Custom application forms: Add per-job custom questions supporting text, select, and file upload field types.
S3-compatible document storage: Upload and manage resumes and cover letters using MinIO, with authenticated, non-public URL access.
Multi-tenant organizations: Isolated organization data with role-based membership managed through Better Auth’s organization plugin.
Use Cases:
Small to mid-size hiring teams who want to own their ATS data and avoid per-seat SaaS pricing by self-hosting on a single VPS.
Developers or technical recruiters comfortable with Docker Compose deployment who need a modern-stack ATS with a public job board and Kanban pipeline.
Organizations evaluating open-source ATS options against stale alternatives like OpenCATS, looking for active development and a Vue 3 / Nuxt 4 foundation.
Open-Source Alternative Value:
Reqcore provides an open-source alternative to commercial ATS products like Greenhouse, Lever, and Ashby, with self-hosting, no per-seat fees, and full ownership of hiring data. Its modern Nuxt 4 / Vue 3 stack and active development differentiate it from older open-source options such as OpenCATS, while the included Kanban pipeline, public job board, custom forms, and MinIO-backed document storage cover core recruitment workflows without cloud lock-in. The roadmap points toward privacy-first local AI features via Ollama, but the current value is a clean, self-contained ATS that runs on modest infrastructure.
