AI-Job-Search Extension Points: Portals, Templates, and Evaluation Criteria Explained

The AI-Job-Search framework provides three extension points—portal skills, document templates, and evaluation criteria—that let you customize your job search without modifying core code.

The MadsLorentzen/ai-job-search repository implements a modular architecture where all customizations happen through well-defined AI-Job-Search extension points. Whether you need to scrape a new job board, generate branded application documents, or enforce personal deal-breakers, the framework exposes clear interfaces for each capability.

Portal Skills: Adding New Job Boards

Portal skills are self-contained CLI tools that query external job boards. Each skill lives in its own folder under .agents/skills/ and follows a strict contract for discoverability.

How Portal Skills Work

The framework automatically discovers any installed portal skill that conforms to this contract. According to the source code in README.md lines 300-308, portal skills must implement:

• search and detail commands
• Multiple output formats: JSON, table, and plain text
• An enabled: flag in their SKILL.md configuration

Adding a New Portal

Use the built-in generator to scaffold a new portal:

/add-portal

This interactively creates:

.agents/skills/<portal-name>/
├── SKILL.md          # Configuration with enabled: true

├── cli/
│   ├── package.json  # Zero dependencies

│   └── src/
│       ├── search.ts # Query the job board API

│       └── detail.ts # Fetch full job descriptions

The /scrape command then automatically includes your new portal in its execution cycle.

Document Templates: Customizing CV and Cover Letter Output

Document templates control how the framework compiles application materials to PDF. The template extension point handles LaTeX, Typst, or other document systems through a standardized registration process.

Registering a Custom Template

The /add-template command records:

• Source file extension (.tex, .typ, etc.)
• Compile command with full flags
• Required fonts and style rules
• Page limit enforcement

Example registration session:

/add-template

# • Source file: my_template.tex

# • Compile command: lualatex -interaction=nonstopmode my_template.tex

# • Fonts: Lato, Raleway

# • Page limit: 2

The template is stored under templates/ and immediately wired into the /apply workflow. A test compile runs during registration to catch errors early.

Evaluation Criteria: Defining Deal-Breakers and Preferences

Evaluation criteria shape how the framework scores and filters job postings. Unlike the structural extension points, criteria are defined declaratively in your profile and evaluated at runtime.

Where Evaluation Criteria Are Defined

The primary location is .claude/skills/job-application-assistant/04-job-evaluation.md. Edit this file to add personal rules:

## Deal-breakers

- Salary must be ≥ 45,000 DKK per month
- Must not require on-call work
- Language: English (fluent) required

The language gate implementation in this file provides a concrete example: it hard-rejects postings requiring undeclared languages and flags borderline level mismatches.

How Criteria Are Applied

Both /rank and /apply commands evaluate these criteria:

1. Hard rejections remove jobs from consideration entirely
2. Scoring adjustments alter ranking positions
3. Flagged items appear in human-readable output for manual review

Key Files for Each Extension Point

Extension Point	Primary File	Purpose
Portal skills	.agents/skills/*/SKILL.md	Contract definition per portal
Document templates	templates/README.md	Template setup instructions
Evaluation criteria	.claude/skills/job-application-assistant/04-job-evaluation.md	Scoring and filtering rules

All three extension points are documented together in README.md at lines 300-308, providing the architectural overview that ties the system together.

Summary

• Portal skills extend job source coverage through CLI tools in .agents/skills/ with automatic discovery via /scrape
• Document templates register compile pipelines for PDF generation through /add-template, storing assets in templates/
• Evaluation criteria define personal deal-breakers and scoring rules in 04-job-evaluation.md, consumed by /rank and /apply

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I disable a portal without deleting it?

Set enabled: false in the portal's SKILL.md file. The /scrape command skips any portal with this flag, preserving the skill for future use without removal.

Can I use multiple template engines simultaneously?

Yes. The template extension point records the compile command per template, so you can register LaTeX-based CVs alongside Typst cover letters. Each document type uses its registered engine independently.

Where should salary requirements be specified?

Place absolute minimums in 04-job-evaluation.md as deal-breakers. For flexible preferences that affect scoring but don't auto-reject, add weighted criteria in the same file under a preferences section—the framework applies both during /rank evaluation.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}