---
title: "Quickstart"
description: "Get started with Reactive Resume in minutes — use our hosted version or deploy your own instance"
---

## Options

Reactive Resume offers flexibility in how you want to use it. Choose the option that best fits your needs:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Use the Cloud Version" icon="cloud" href="#use-the-cloud-version">
    The fastest way to get started. **Recommended for most users.**
  </Card>
  <Card title="Self-Host with Docker" icon="docker" href="#self-host-with-docker">
    Deploy your own instance with complete control. **Requires some technical knowledge.**
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

---

## Using the Cloud Version

The easiest way to use Reactive Resume is through our cloud version at [rxresu.me](https://rxresu.me). **This service is completely free and will always remain free.**

<Steps>
	<Step title="Create an Account">
		Visit [rxresu.me](https://rxresu.me) and sign up for free using your email, or sign in with your GitHub or Google
		account.
	</Step>

    <Step title="Create Your First Resume">
    	Click the **Create Resume** button on your dashboard. Give your resume a name and select a template to get started.
    </Step>

    <Step title="Fill in Your Details">
    	Use our intuitive builder to add your: - Personal information - Work experience - Education - Skills - Projects -
    	And more...
    </Step>

    <Step title="Export & Share">
    	When you're ready, export your resume as a PDF or share it via a unique public link.
    </Step>

</Steps>

<Tip>Your resume updates in real-time as you type. The preview panel shows exactly how your final PDF will look.</Tip>

---

## Self-Host with Docker

For users who prefer complete control over their data, you can deploy Reactive Resume on your own infrastructure using Docker.

<Info>
  **From v5.1.0 onwards** — PDF generation now runs entirely client-side via `@react-pdf/renderer`. Self-hosted deployments no longer require Browserless, Chromium, or any external print service as a dependency. The `PRINTER_*` and `BROWSERLESS_*` environment variables are no longer read and can be removed from your `.env`.
</Info>

### Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

- [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) (v20.10 or higher)
- [Docker Compose](https://docs.docker.com/compose/install/) (v2.0 or higher)

<Info>
  There is <strong>no difference in features</strong> between the cloud-hosted version and the self-hosted option. Both
  provide the same privacy, customization, and functionality. Choose whichever deployment type suits your needs!
</Info>

### Quick Deployment

<Steps>
	<Step title="Clone the Repository">
		```bash
		git clone https://github.com/amruthpillai/reactive-resume.git
		cd reactive-resume
		```
	</Step>

    <Step title="Configure Environment Variables">
    	Create a `.env` file in the root directory with the following variables:

```bash .env
# Application
APP_URL=http://localhost:3000

# Database
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:postgres@postgres:5432/postgres

# Authentication (generate a secure secret)
AUTH_SECRET=your-secure-secret-key-here

# Storage (S3-compatible via SeaweedFS)
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=seaweedfs
S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=seaweedfs
S3_ENDPOINT=http://seaweedfs:8333
S3_BUCKET=reactive-resume
S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE=true

# AI features (optional; ENCRYPTION_SECRET for saved providers, plus REDIS_URL for the agent)
REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
ENCRYPTION_SECRET=your-secure-encryption-secret-here
```

    	<Warning>
		For production deployments, always use strong, unique values for `AUTH_SECRET`, `ENCRYPTION_SECRET`, and
		database credentials.
    	</Warning>
    </Step>

    <Step title="Start the Services">
    	```bash
    	docker compose up -d
    	```

    	This starts:
    	- **PostgreSQL** — Database for storing user data and resumes
	- **Redis** — Required for the AI Agent workspace
    	- **SeaweedFS** — S3-compatible storage for file uploads
    	- **Reactive Resume** — The main application
    </Step>

    <Step title="Access Your Instance">
    	Once all services are running, access your Reactive Resume instance at:

    	```text
    	http://localhost:3000
    	```
    </Step>

</Steps>

### Docker Compose Services

Here's what each service in the stack does:

| Service           | Port | Description                                          |
| ----------------- | ---- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| `postgres`        | 5432 | PostgreSQL database for storing all application data |
| `redis`           | 6379 | Redis instance required by the AI Agent workspace    |
| `seaweedfs`       | 8333 | S3-compatible object storage for file uploads        |
| `reactive_resume` | 3000 | The main Reactive Resume application                 |

<Note>
  Saved AI provider management requires `ENCRYPTION_SECRET`, and the AI Agent workspace requires both `REDIS_URL` and
  `ENCRYPTION_SECRET`. Other Reactive Resume features can run without them. Agent attachments and other private objects
  require S3-compatible storage; local storage rejects private objects.
</Note>

### Health Checks

All services include built-in health checks. You can verify everything is running correctly:

```bash
docker compose ps
```

You should see all services with a `healthy` status.

---

## Environment Variables Reference

Here's a complete list of environment variables you can configure:

### Required Variables

| Variable       | Description                    | Example                               |
| -------------- | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------- |
| `DATABASE_URL` | PostgreSQL connection string   | `postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db` |
| `AUTH_SECRET`  | Secret key for authentication  | Generate with `openssl rand -hex 32`  |
| `APP_URL`      | Public URL of your Application | `https://rxresu.me`                   |

### Optional Variables

| Variable                              | Description                                                 | Default                |
| ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| `GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID`                    | Google OAuth Client ID                                      | —                      |
| `GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET`                | Google OAuth Client Secret                                  | —                      |
| `GITHUB_CLIENT_ID`                    | GitHub OAuth Client ID                                      | —                      |
| `GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET`                | GitHub OAuth Client Secret                                  | —                      |
| `LINKEDIN_CLIENT_ID`                  | LinkedIn OAuth Client ID                                    | —                      |
| `LINKEDIN_CLIENT_SECRET`              | LinkedIn OAuth Client Secret                                | —                      |
| `OAUTH_PROVIDER_NAME`                 | Custom OAuth Provider Name                                  | —                      |
| `OAUTH_CLIENT_ID`                     | Custom OAuth Client ID                                      | —                      |
| `OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET`                 | Custom OAuth Client Secret                                  | —                      |
| `OAUTH_DISCOVERY_URL`                 | OIDC Discovery URL (use this OR manual URLs below)          | —                      |
| `OAUTH_AUTHORIZATION_URL`             | OAuth Authorization URL (manual config)                     | —                      |
| `OAUTH_TOKEN_URL`                     | OAuth Token URL (manual config)                             | —                      |
| `OAUTH_USER_INFO_URL`                 | OAuth User Info URL (manual config)                         | —                      |
| `OAUTH_SCOPES`                        | OAuth Scopes (space-separated)                              | `openid profile email` |
| `BETTER_AUTH_API_KEY`                 | Better Auth dashboard API key                               | —                      |
| `SMTP_HOST`                           | SMTP Server Host (for email features)                       | —                      |
| `SMTP_PORT`                           | SMTP Server Port                                            | `587`                  |
| `SMTP_USER`                           | SMTP Username                                               | —                      |
| `SMTP_PASS`                           | SMTP Password                                               | —                      |
| `SMTP_FROM`                           | Default FROM address for emails                             | —                      |
| `SMTP_SECURE`                         | Use secure SMTP connection (`true` or `false`)              | `false`                |
| `S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID`                    | S3 Access Key                                               | —                      |
| `S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`                | S3 Secret Key                                               | —                      |
| `S3_REGION`                           | S3 Region                                                   | `us-east-1`            |
| `S3_ENDPOINT`                         | S3-compatible Endpoint URL                                  | —                      |
| `S3_BUCKET`                           | S3 Bucket Name                                              | —                      |
| `S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE`                 | Use path-style URLs for S3 (set `true` for MinIO/SeaweedFS) | `false`                |
| `REDIS_URL`                           | Redis connection string for the AI Agent workspace          | —                      |
| `ENCRYPTION_SECRET`                   | Encryption secret for saved AI provider credentials         | —                      |
| `FLAG_DISABLE_SIGNUPS`                | Disables new user signups                                   | `false`                |
| `FLAG_DISABLE_EMAIL_AUTH`             | Disables email/password login (SSO only)                    | `false`                |
| `FLAG_DISABLE_IMAGE_PROCESSING`       | Disables image processing                                   | `false`                |
| `FLAG_SHOW_SPONSORS`                  | Shows sponsor placements on the public landing page         | `false`                |
| `FLAG_ALLOW_UNSAFE_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI` | Allows arbitrary dynamic OAuth redirect URIs                | `false`                |
| `FLAG_ALLOW_UNSAFE_AI_BASE_URL`       | Allows unsafe/private/non-public AI provider base URLs      | `false`                |

> **Note:** Some variables are only required for using related features (OAuth, SMTP, S3, etc.) and can be left unset if unused.

> **AI features:** Saved AI provider management requires `ENCRYPTION_SECRET`, and the AI Agent workspace requires both `REDIS_URL` and `ENCRYPTION_SECRET`. Live web research depends on the selected AI provider/model supporting native web search. Keep `FLAG_ALLOW_UNSAFE_AI_BASE_URL` disabled unless this is a trusted self-hosted deployment; public HTTPS provider URLs are the safe default.

> **OAuth redirect safety:** Keep `FLAG_ALLOW_UNSAFE_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI` disabled unless this is a trusted self-hosted deployment. Enabling it allows dynamic OAuth clients to register any parseable redirect URI, including custom schemes, private hosts, and non-loopback `http://` URLs, which can enable phishing or token exfiltration on public or multi-tenant instances.

> **Health check behavior:** `/api/health` reports status for database and storage. A failure in either dependency returns HTTP `503`.

---

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Development Setup" icon="code" href="/contributing/development">
    Set up a development environment to contribute or customize Reactive Resume.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Project Architecture" icon="folder-open" href="/contributing/architecture">
    Learn about the project structure and architecture.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Note>
  **Having trouble?** Check our [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/amruthpillai/reactive-resume/issues) or reach out via
  [email](mailto:hello@amruthpillai.com).
</Note>