Help & FAQ

Everything below is about using DraftShelf itself. If you can't find your answer, email us directly and we'll get back to you.

Getting started All features Connect an AI Assistant FAQ Troubleshooting Glossary Contact

Getting started

From a real, signed-in walkthrough - everything from your first sign-in to tailoring one resume for two different roles.

Create an account

Sign up with an email and password, or with Google or GitHub. Every account is fully free, and everything you enter is private to you.
Land on your Dashboard

Every tailored resume you build lives here as its own card. A brand-new account starts empty - click "+ New version" whenever you're ready for your first one.
Fill in your Library

The Library tab is where every job, project, school, and skill you've ever had lives - add it once here. Each entry can hold several bullet points, and you'll pick which ones to use per resume later.
Build a version and export it

Open a version, check off which Library entries and bullets belong on this particular resume, and watch the preview on the right update live. When it looks right, click Download PDF or Download DOCX in the top-right corner.
Tailor for a different role in one click

Tag bullets with a role name (e.g. data-analyst, business-analyst) in the Library, then use Fill in with tag at the top of any version to pull in everything tagged for that role at once - it only adds or switches content, it never removes anything you've already included, and it asks before making any change.
Edit an entry without leaving the version

Click Edit details on any checklist item to open, edit, and add bullets to that Library entry right from the editor. The Save changes to choice at the bottom decides how far the edit reaches: update the shared Library everywhere it's used, keep it local to just this one version, or pick per version.

Connect an AI Assistant

Let Claude Code, Codex, Claude Desktop, claude.ai, or ChatGPT read and edit your Library and Versions directly, right from the conversation.

Local: Claude Code, Codex

A coding tool running on your own machine.

1. Add it to your AI tool

Claude Code

claude mcp add draftshelf -s user -- npx -y draftshelf-mcp

Codex CLI

codex mcp add draftshelf -- npx -y draftshelf-mcp

Any other local MCP client

Claude Desktop also supports Connectors directly (see that column) - use this config file instead for any tool with no Connectors option of its own:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "draftshelf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "draftshelf-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

2. Restart your AI tool and try it

The first time it actually launches the server, your browser opens on its own to a real DraftShelf sign-in + consent screen - sign in there once, then ask it something like "add a bullet to my most recent experience entry" and reload DraftShelf in your own browser to confirm the change is really there. Every launch after that is instant, no browser involved - if your tool gives up before you finish signing in, finish anyway and just ask it to try again.

The full setup guide lives on the draftshelf-mcp npm package page.

Connectors: claude.ai, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT

Add DraftShelf as a connector directly in the chat interface - nothing runs on your own machine.

claude.aiClaude Desktop

Go to Settings → Connectors, click the + button, then Add custom connector (same steps on both). Paste in:

https://mcp.draftshelf.app

Click Add, sign in (or create an account), and click Allow when asked to connect. Free, Pro, and Max accounts can add it directly (Free is limited to one custom connector); on a Team/Enterprise account, an organization owner adds it once under Organization Settings → Connectors, and members then enable it individually.

ChatGPT

Open Settings → Security and login and turn on Developer mode (this feature is currently only available that way). Then go to Plugins, click the + button, and paste in:

https://mcp.draftshelf.app

Try it

Ask it something like "add a bullet to my most recent experience entry" and reload DraftShelf in your browser to confirm the change is really there. Every write it makes goes through the same validated, revision-checked path a browser edit does, and if GitHub backup is connected, it fires from there too - reopening the same chat later needs no re-sign-in, and Claude Desktop's own Connectors screen works exactly the same way as claude.ai's shown above.

Disconnect any time from Settings → Connected Apps in DraftShelf.

FAQ

Short answers to the questions we hear most.

Is DraftShelf free?

Yes - every feature, including PDF/DOCX export and GitHub backup, is free with no trial period or paid tier.

Do I need an account to use DraftShelf?

Yes - sign up with email/password, Google, or GitHub. This is what lets your Library and resumes sync across devices and stay private to you.

What's the difference between the Library and a Version?

Your Library is every piece of career content you've ever entered - companies, roles, bullets, education, skills - kept in one place, edited once. A Version is one tailored resume: a specific selection of Library content, in a specific order, for one job application. See the Glossary below for more.

If I fix a typo in a bullet, does it update on every resume that uses it?

By default, yes - a bullet's text lives once in your Library, and every version referencing it shows the edited text automatically. If the field or bullet you're editing is currently used by one or more versions, DraftShelf asks first: update all of them, freeze the old wording on some, or choose per version - so an edit never silently changes a resume you've already sent out. Editing from inside a version's own "Edit details" screen additionally offers "Only this version," to override just that one resume without touching anything shared.

Should I download the PDF or the DOCX?

PDF for applying almost everywhere - it's real selectable vector text (not a screenshot), so it reads correctly in applicant tracking systems. DOCX is there for when a job posting specifically asks for a Word file, or when you want to make manual edits outside DraftShelf. Note that Word paginates DOCX on its own, so page breaks can differ slightly from the PDF.

Will my resume pass through an ATS (applicant tracking system)?

The exported PDF is built from real text, not an image, and uses pure black body text - both common ATS-compatibility requirements. We can't guarantee every ATS on the market, but the export is built specifically to avoid the most common failure mode (image-based resumes getting rejected outright).

What is GitHub Backup, and is it required?

It's entirely optional. If you turn it on (Settings → GitHub Manage), you create a personal access token on GitHub and paste it in once - DraftShelf then pushes a JSON copy of your Library and versions to a repository you choose, automatically after every change - a second, personal backup you fully control. No GitHub connection is needed for anything else in the app to work.

Can I import a resume I already have?

Click Import Resume in the top bar. If you already have a DraftShelf JSON export, choose the file directly and pick how to bring it in: replace everything, merge it into your existing Library entry-by-entry, or bring it in as a fully separate, private version. If you only have a plain PDF or Word resume, the same dialog shows a ready-to-copy prompt for pasting into an AI chatbot (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) that converts it into the JSON shape DraftShelf expects - no manual re-typing required.

Who can see my resume data?

Only you. Every account's data is access-controlled so no one else's sign-in can read or write it, and DraftShelf never sells or shares your information. See our Privacy Policy for the full details.

Can I use DraftShelf through an AI assistant instead of the website?

Yes - Claude Code, Codex, Claude Desktop, claude.ai, and ChatGPT can all connect directly to your DraftShelf account and read/write your Library and versions in conversation: add bullets, tailor a version for a specific job, export a PDF, all without clicking through the web app. See Connect an AI Assistant above for setup steps. Everything it can do goes through the same access rules and revision checks the web app itself uses, and it can never touch your password or set up GitHub Backup - both stay web-app-only.

Troubleshooting

Common snags and how to clear them.

My PDF download is taking a long time, or seems stuck

The very first export after a while of inactivity can take 20-30 seconds while the export service wakes back up - this is normal, not a stall. If a dialog appears mentioning a backup server, leave it open; it's automatically waiting for that wake-up and will retry on its own. If it's still stuck after a couple of minutes, reload and try again.

My resume shows an extra page in the PDF that didn't look necessary on screen

DraftShelf intentionally leaves a small safety margin so content never gets cut off right at a page edge in the exported file, which occasionally means a resume that looked borderline on screen prints one line onto a second page. Shortening a bullet or two, or trimming a gap in the Style panel, usually brings it back to one page.

I never received (or can't use) a confirmation or password-reset email

Check spam first. If the link says it's invalid or expired even though you just clicked it, the most common cause is a messaging app (WhatsApp, iMessage, Slack) automatically "previewing" the link before you tap it, which uses up its one-time validity. Request a fresh link and open it directly from your email app instead of a forwarded chat message.

GitHub Backup shows "failed" or an error

Open Settings → GitHub Manage - the error box there shows GitHub's own reason (a common one is the connected repository having been renamed or deleted). Click "Push all now" to retry immediately, or disconnect and reconnect if the repository itself has changed.

I got a message about a "sync conflict"

This means the same Library or version was edited from two tabs or devices at nearly the same time. DraftShelf never silently overwrites either copy - you'll be asked to reload the other device's version, keep your local copy and export it as JSON first, or force-save over it. When in doubt, export your local copy to JSON before choosing, just in case.

I navigated away from a version and can't find my way back

Look for the dashed "↩ Continue editing" pill in the top navigation bar - it appears anywhere except the Dashboard whenever a version is open, and jumps straight back to it.

My AI assistant says it can't find any DraftShelf tools

Confirm the config command was added correctly and the tool was fully restarted afterward (not just a new chat in the same running app) - most MCP clients only load server config on startup. For Claude Code/Codex, running the add command a second time will tell you if it's already registered. If it's still missing, remove and re-add it.

My AI assistant opened a browser tab for sign-in and I closed it, or it timed out

Just ask your assistant to try again - the next attempt opens a fresh sign-in tab. If you did finish signing in but your tool gave up waiting before you were done, finish anyway (the sign-in page itself stays open and working for a few minutes) and then ask your assistant to retry; it will find your credentials already stored and skip the browser step entirely.

How do I disconnect an AI assistant from my account?

Open Settings → Connected Apps - every assistant with access is listed there, with a Revoke button next to each one. Revoking takes effect immediately; the assistant will need to sign in again to reconnect.

Glossary

Terms used throughout the app.

Library: Every job, project, school, skill, summary, and reference you've ever entered, kept in one account-wide place. Edited once, used everywhere.
Version: One tailored resume: a specific selection of Library content, in a specific order, plus its own job details and style. You can have as many as you like.
Skill Set: A saved, reusable bundle of skill categories - pick one set instead of re-checking the same boxes on every new version.
Tag: A short label (e.g. "backend", "data") you can put on bullets or skill categories, then use to quickly pull in everything written for that kind of role.
Standalone version: A version imported from a file that keeps its own private copy of its content instead of referencing your shared Library - useful for a one-off resume that shouldn't affect your account data.
References mode: Whether a version prints your actual reference list in full, or just the line "References available upon request."
Cover Letter: A separate one-page tool for drafting a matching cover letter - not tied to the Library/Version system, since a cover letter isn't reusable content the way a resume bullet is.
GitHub Backup: An optional, one-way (push-only) automatic backup of your Library and versions to a GitHub repository you choose. DraftShelf never reads anything back from GitHub.
MCP (Model Context Protocol): An open standard that lets an AI assistant call an app's own tools directly in conversation, instead of you clicking through its UI. It's how Claude Code, Codex, Claude Desktop, claude.ai, and ChatGPT can read and write your DraftShelf Library and versions.
Connector: The name claude.ai and ChatGPT use for an MCP connection you add in their own settings, no local install needed - as opposed to a local MCP server, which runs on your own machine for tools like Claude Code or Codex.
Connected Apps: The Settings panel listing every AI assistant currently signed in to your account, with a Revoke button to disconnect any of them.

Contact

DraftShelf is an independently run tool, not a company with a support team - email is genuinely the fastest way to reach a real person.

Email

For questions, bug reports, or feedback on this help page itself:
ariadaikalam1234@gmail.com

Legal

Status

If something feels broken (PDF export failing, changes not saving), check whether it's a known server issue: Status page