Reactive Resume is a free, open source resume builder you can self-host — a Zety and Resume.io alternative that lets you design a resume from templates, edit it live, and export to PDF, DOCX, or JSON while keeping your career data private.

What is Reactive Resume?

Reactive Resume is a free, open source resume builder that lets you create, customize, and share professional resumes without a subscription. You fill in your details on a live editor, pick from a set of templates, and export the result — with the option to self-host so your career data never leaves your own server.

What is Reactive Resume best for?

Reactive Resume is best for job seekers and privacy-conscious users who want full control over their resume data and dislike paywalled downloads. It suits people comfortable running a Docker container (or using the free hosted app at rxresu.me), and anyone who wants to keep multiple tailored resumes and share them by link with recruiters.

What can Reactive Resume do?

Edit resumes on a live preview with drag-and-drop section reordering and custom sections.
Choose from 15 built-in templates with A4/Letter sizing and adjustable typography, colors, and spacing.
Export to PDF, DOCX, and JSON — PDF generation runs client-side (since v5.1.0) with no external print service needed.
Share resumes through a public link, with optional password protection.
Draft and improve wording with AI integrations (OpenAI, Google Gemini, Claude) using your own API key.
Secure accounts with passkeys and two-factor authentication, plus dark mode and multi-language support.

Where does Reactive Resume fall short?

It is a resume builder, not a job-application suite — there is no built-in job tracker, cover-letter library, or ATS-scoring feedback that paid services like Zety bundle in. The template set is deliberately small (15), so if you need dozens of distinct designs or heavy visual layouts, a design tool such as Canva will offer more variety. AI writing help is bring-your-own-key rather than included, so you pay the model provider separately for suggestions.

Is Reactive Resume free?

Yes — Reactive Resume is completely free and open source under the MIT license, with no ads, paywalls, or premium tier. The hosted version at rxresu.me is free to use, and self-hosting adds only your own infrastructure cost. Every feature, including export and sharing, is available at no charge.

What does Reactive Resume replace?

Reactive Resume stands in for paid online resume builders. It is an open source Zety alternative and Resume.io alternative for people who don’t want a subscription gating their downloads, and a focused Canva alternative when your goal is specifically building and exporting a resume rather than general graphic design.

FAQ

Is Reactive Resume open source? Yes. It is released under the MIT license, and the full source is on GitHub. You can audit, modify, and self-host it freely.

Can I self-host Reactive Resume for free? Yes. It ships as a Docker deployment using PostgreSQL for storage (with optional SeaweedFS for file uploads). Since v5.1.0, PDF generation is client-side, so you no longer need Browserless or a Chromium print service.

Is Reactive Resume a good Zety alternative? For most job seekers, yes — it covers live editing, templates, and PDF export without the subscription. The main gaps versus Zety are the absence of a bundled cover-letter builder and ATS-scoring guidance.

What do I need to run Reactive Resume? A server with Docker and PostgreSQL. It’s a TypeScript/React application, and the provided Docker Compose setup wires up the database and storage so you can be running in a few commands.