diff --git a/PROJECT_STATUS.md b/PROJECT_STATUS.md
index 46ccde7..e8a4dc5 100644
--- a/PROJECT_STATUS.md
+++ b/PROJECT_STATUS.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
# resume-tailor — PROJECT STATUS
-Last updated: 2026-07-26
+Last updated: 2026-07-31
## Why / What
@@ -63,6 +63,11 @@ SHA-tagged `workflow_dispatch`.
## Timeline
+- **2026-07-31 — Free ATS checker intent page:** clarified the checker as a
+ private, no-sign-up seven-signal structure pass; documented its scoring,
+ relationship to keyword matching, workflow, and limitations; and synchronized
+ the agent-readable public catalog without changing its local analysis logic.
+
- **2026-07-29 — First-party changelog shipped:** The Astro public surface now
owns a same-origin `/changelog` with verified editorial release entries,
while Roadmap and Source link to the canonical GitHub issues and repository.
diff --git a/public-surfaces.mjs b/public-surfaces.mjs
index 03a8cfe..c9ad2a0 100644
--- a/public-surfaces.mjs
+++ b/public-surfaces.mjs
@@ -119,13 +119,13 @@ export const PUBLIC_SURFACES = [
{
id: 'ats-checker',
path: '/tools/ats-check',
- title: 'ATS resume checker',
+ title: 'Free ATS resume checker',
description:
- 'Check resume structure and parseability with local heuristics for sections, contact details, bullets, dates, metrics, and table-like rows.',
+ 'Check seven resume structure and formatting signals for free in your browser with no sign-up, upload, or network request.',
details: [
- 'The score summarizes seven documented formatting and structure checks.',
- 'Findings explain which heuristic passed, warned, or failed.',
- 'The check runs locally and does not upload the resume.',
+ 'The documented heuristics cover length, sections, contact details, bullets, dates, quantified outcomes, and table-like rows.',
+ 'Every warning and failure is visible; the score is not a prediction from a particular employer ATS.',
+ 'The check runs locally and does not upload the resume or require an account.',
],
changeFrequency: 'monthly',
priority: 0.85,
diff --git a/src/app/tools/ats-check/layout.tsx b/src/app/tools/ats-check/layout.tsx
index eb3c585..8d20c04 100644
--- a/src/app/tools/ats-check/layout.tsx
+++ b/src/app/tools/ats-check/layout.tsx
@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@ import type { Metadata } from 'next';
import { ToolSeo } from '@/components/tool-seo';
export const metadata: Metadata = {
- title: 'Free ATS Resume Checker — Formatting & Parseability Scan',
+ title: 'Free ATS Resume Checker — Private, No Sign-Up | RolePatch',
description:
- 'Check resume formatting and ATS parseability for free. Find missing sections, contact gaps, table traps, weak bullet density, and missing dates in your browser.',
+ 'Check seven resume structure and formatting signals for free in your browser. See every warning and limitation with no sign-up, upload, or network request.',
alternates: { canonical: 'https://rolepatch.com/tools/ats-check' },
};
@@ -45,29 +45,48 @@ export default function Layout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
howItWorks={
<>
- Paste your resume as markdown or plain text and the checker runs seven local
- heuristics against it — no network call, so your text never leaves the page. It flags
- a word count outside the 200–1300 range, missing standard sections (Experience,
- Education, Skills, Projects), absent contact info (it looks for an email plus a phone
- number or LinkedIn URL), low bullet density, too few quantified outcomes,
- pipe-delimited table rows that ATS parsers flatten, and missing dates.
+ Paste plain text or Markdown and the checker runs seven local heuristics: length,
+ standard sections, contact details, bullet density, quantified outcomes, table-like
+ rows, and date coverage. It does not upload a PDF or DOCX and cannot inspect the
+ rendered document.
- Each check is marked good, warn, or fail. The score starts at 100 and drops 5 points
- per warning and 15 per failure, clamped to 0–100. The findings list tells you
- exactly which heuristic tripped and why, so you can fix the underlying structure
- rather than guessing.
+ The score starts at 100 and subtracts 5 points for every warning and 15 points for
+ every failure, clamped to 0–100. Every deduction remains visible. There is no
+ universal ideal resume length, heading set, bullet density, or ATS threshold, so read
+ the findings instead of treating the score as an employer prediction.
+
+ Parseability check or job match?
+
- This tool checks parseability and structure only. To measure keyword match against a
- specific job description, use the{' '}
+ This checker reviews one resume's structure. The{' '}
ATS Keyword Checker
-
- .
+ {' '}
+ answers a different question by comparing a resume with one job description and
+ reporting matched and missing terms.
+
+
+ How to use the result
+
+
+
Paste plain text or Markdown from your resume.
+
Read every finding, not only the score.
+
Fix genuine structure problems without inventing achievements or metrics.
+
Run the Keyword Checker against the actual job description.
+
Review the final document visually and as extracted text before applying.
+
+
+ What this checker does not do
+
+
+ It does not reproduce a proprietary employer ATS, guarantee an interview, know an
+ employer's ranking rules, judge whether a claim is true, or determine whether the
+ rendered document looks good. Treat it as an inspectable first pass.
- Paste your resume as markdown or plain text. Local heuristics flag the things ATS parsers
- and recruiter skim-readers actually care about. No network call — your text never leaves the
- page.
+ Paste the text of your resume for an immediate, browser-local check of seven visible
+ structure and formatting signals. No sign-up, file upload, or network request is required.
+ The result is a transparent heuristic report, not a prediction that a particular employer or
+ applicant-tracking system will accept your resume.