RoleLinker

RoleLinker is a lightweight, secure, and modular job-matching platform designed to connect Job Seekers and Recruiters with minimal friction. The system focuses on clarity, performance, and maintainability, offering a clean architecture suitable for real-world scaling and development.

This README gives a developer-oriented overview of how the project is structured and how to navigate it. Deeper project documentation lives in /docs/internal/

RoleLinker provides:

• Direct connection between recruiters and job seekers
• Clean UX for onboarding, profile setup, job discovery, and applications
• Match-score-based suggestions (deterministic math, no AI)
• Fully modular backend (AuthManager, ProfileManager, JobManager, SuggestionEngine…)
• Secure session-based authentication
• Multi-environment support (local, staging, production)
• Admin Panel (separate, documented in /docs/internal/admin_panel.md)

This repo includes all backend API services, the full user-facing application, and deployment setup.

Zero-Cost Constraint • Single Developer • Academic Origin

This project was developed by a single developer as an academic project with a focus on production-grade quality, demonstrating:

• Zero external costs – No paid services, cloud dependencies, or premium APIs
• Self-sufficient infrastructure – File-based rate limiting, local logging, no Redis/paid caching
• Production-ready practices – Despite constraints, follows industry best practices for security, testing, and maintainability
• Scalable architecture – Designed for easy migration to paid services (Redis, cloud backups) when budget allows

• HTML5
• Vanilla JavaScript (modular scripts)
• CSS (component-based styles)
• PHP templating

• PHP 8.2 (modular directory structure)
• MySQL
• Custom caching layer
• REST-style API routes

• Docker (Production & Staging)
• XAMPP (Local Development)
• Environment files (.env, .env.staging, .env.production)

src/
├── admin/                 # Admin panel (not part of user docs)
├── assets/                # JS, CSS, logos, component styles
├── templates/             # PHP templates for UI rendering
├── server/                # All backend APIs + managers + core libraries
├── files/                 # Cache + file uploads (profile pics/resumes)
├── index.php              # Main entry point (post-login router)
├── auth.php               # Auth flow entry
└── manage_profile.php     # Profile setup/edit

Backend Core Structure:

src/server/
├── core/                  # Config, bootstrap, helpers, security
├── lib/                   # Managers (Auth, Profile, Jobs, Cache, etc.)
├── auth_api.php           # Login / Register / Logout
├── profile_api.php        # Profile setup/update/read
├── jobs_api.php           # Job CRUD + applications
├── suggestion_api.php     # Suggestions for jobs & profiles
└── attributes_api.php     # Skills, roles, locations, experience

• /server/auth_api.php → Auth
• /server/profile_api.php → Profile CRUD
• /server/jobs_api.php → Job creation, deletion, application flow
• /server/suggestion_api.php → Job/Applicant matching
• /server/attributes_api.php → Skills, roles, locations, experience lists

A full breakdown is available in:

/docs/internal/dev_wiki.md

1. Clone repository
2. Place project inside htdocs
3. Import DB schema from /database/base_schema.sql
4. Configure .env (dev values)
5. Visit /auth.php

1. Build with root Dockerfile
2. Use environment-specific .env files
3. Deploy to any container host (Railway, Render, self-hosted, etc.)

• CSRF protection
• Input validation & sanitization
• Password hashing (password_hash)
• Role-based access on DB level
• Strict file permissions
• Secure session regeneration
• Limited public fields via PROFILE_PUBLIC_FIELDS

All detailed, module-level, and architectural documentation lives in:

/docs/internal/dev_wiki.md

Additional docs:

• Database schema: /docs/internal/database.md
• Admin panel: /docs/internal/admin_panel.md
• Academic report: /docs/final_report/

Note: Live demos were previously hosted on Railway's free tier. Run locally with XAMPP for full functionality.

For app screenshots: App Preview

If you're extending or improving the project, please read:

docs/internal/dev_wiki.md#extension-guide

for coding standards, file structure rules, and best practices.

This project follows a principle of transparent technical debt. Below are identified improvement areas:

• Frontend modularization – Split large JS files (discover.js, jobs.js) into focused modules
• Component extraction – Centralize repeated UI patterns (job cards, profile cards)
• State management – Implement consistent state pattern across modules

• Expand unit test coverage to core managers (AuthManager, JobManager)
• Add integration tests for API endpoints
• Set up CI/CD pipeline with automated testing

• Redis caching layer (replace file-based cache)
• Database read replicas
• CDN for static assets

• Real-time messaging between recruiters and candidates
• Resume parsing and auto-fill
• Email notifications for application updates
• Analytics dashboard for recruiters

📄 Detailed technical debt documentation: docs/internal/TECHNICAL_DEBT.md

For questions or collaboration, use the contact.php page or reach out to the developer directly.