New in version 1.0.3 | Updated 25 October 2026

Sort a whole inbox of applications with one command

The Applicant Packager window is built for clicking through applications and choosing the CVs you want. The applicants command-line tool is for the days when you just want everything sorted: type one instruction, and every application since a date lands in its own folder, with a spreadsheet list of who applied. It installs with the app and is free.

How it works, in plain words

Think of your inbox as a big box of letters. applicants is a helper you give one short instruction to, such as "find every application since 23 October and file each person's papers in their own folder." The helper then:

Looks through the mailbox. It only looks: it never deletes, moves, flags, or marks anything as read.
Picks out the emails that match your dates and keywords, such as machine operator or seaming.
Makes one folder per applicant, holding their CV files and a copy of their email. Every file starts with the applicant's reference number, so two files both called resume.pdf never get mixed up.
Writes a list (index.csv) of everyone it found, which opens in Excel: name, email, subject, date, attachments, and any Google Drive links.

Getting started

Install Applicant Packager 1.0.3 or later. Leave Use the applicants command-line tool from any terminal ticked during setup.
Open a new PowerShell or Command Prompt window, so it picks up the new setting.
Type applicants --help and press Enter. You should see the list of commands.

What one command produces

An export of applications for a machine operator job might look like this:

applicants export --since 2026-10-23 -k "machine operator, seaming, textile" --prefix OPS -o "Downloads\OPS_oct23"

OPS_oct23\
  index.csv
  OPS_001_Juan Dela Cruz\
    OPS_001_resume.pdf
    OPS_001_email.txt
  OPS_002_Maria Santos\
    OPS_002_CV.docx
    OPS_002_email.txt

The email copy shows which keywords matched and lists any Google Drive links, so CVs sent as a link instead of an attachment are not lost. Running the same export again never overwrites anything: new copies get a _2 name.

The commands

Every command starts with applicants, for example applicants search --since 2026-10-23 -k "machine operator".

search: list matching applications without saving anything.
links: list applicants who sent a Google Drive or Docs link instead of a file.
index: save just the spreadsheet list.
export: save the list plus one folder per applicant, with their attachments.
mailboxes: show which Thunderbird mailboxes it can read.

Each command filters by date range (--since, --until), keywords in the subject and body, and whether the email has a CV attached. To skip your own replies, add --exclude-sender with your address. Add --json to get results in a format scripts can read.

Let an AI assistant do the sorting

Because it is driven by typed commands, applicants works with AI assistants that can run programs on your computer, such as Claude Code. You can ask the assistant to "export this week's machine operator applications and shortlist the ones with textile experience", and it runs the export, reads the folders, and drafts a shortlist for you to check.

A privacy note: Applicant Packager itself never uploads applicant data. An AI assistant that reads the exported CVs sends their contents to that assistant's provider. Check that your organization allows this before you use it with real applications, and review every shortlist yourself. Keyword matches and AI summaries are aids, not hiring decisions.

How it reads your mail

The command-line tool works with the mailbox that Mozilla Thunderbird keeps on your computer:

Open Thunderbird and let it download new mail. Keep store messages on this computer turned on for the inbox.
Close Thunderbird. applicants waits until Thunderbird is closed, so the two never use the mailbox at the same time.
Run the command.

Direct IMAP connections, which the desktop window supports, are not in the command-line tool yet.

Questions

Do I need to know how to code? No. You copy one line, change the dates and keywords, and press Enter. If you use an AI assistant, it can type the commands for you.

Will it change my inbox? No. The mailbox is opened read-only. The only files it writes are in the folder you choose.

Does it replace the desktop window? No. Use the window to review applications one by one, and applicants when you want everything filed in one go.

I unticked the option during setup. Run it by its full path instead: "%APPDATA%\Applicant Packager\app\applicants.exe" --help, or reinstall and leave the option ticked.

Does it work on Mac? No. Like the desktop app, it is for Windows 10/11.

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