usajobs.py is a python tui for exploring data.usajobs.gov

goal:

• query the official usajobs api
• apply strict local filters because usajobs search facets are unreliable
• show results in a readable terminal table
• let me interactively mark/unmark jobs for export
• export selected jobs to org-mode

stack:

• python 3.11+
• click for cli args
• requests for api
• rich for table output
• questionary for v1 interactive row marking/export
• pathlib/json/csv/stdlib otherwise
• do not use typer or pick for v1
• stretch/v2: textual tui after the simple questionary flow works

env vars:

• USAJOBS_EMAIL
• USAJOBS_KEY

Run:

python usajobs.py search --location "Washington, DC" --radius 25 --salary-min 150 --grade-min 15 --grade-max 15 --series 2210 --series 0340 --clearance 3 --clearance 4

option behavior:

• --radius 25 means 25 miles
• --salary-min 150 means $150,000
• --grade-min/--grade-max filter locally against low/high grade
• --series may repeat; pass to api as semicolon list
• --clearance may repeat; pass to api as semicolon list
• --pay-plan may repeat, default gs and gg
• --limit defaults 100
• --out-dir defaults exports
• --out optional explicit org output path
• --cache-dir defaults .cache/usajobs
• --interactive / --no-interactive, default true
• --select-all preselects every row in the export picker
• --dry-run shows what would be exported without writing
• --offline reads cached json only and does not call api
• --debug prints api params and counts before/after filtering

search behavior:

1. call https://data.usajobs.gov/api/search using official headers:
   • host: data.usajobs.gov
   • user-agent: $USAJOBS_EMAIL
   • authorization-key: $USAJOBS_KEY
2. request:
   • fields=full
   • resultsperpage=500
   • sortfield=opendate
   • sortdirection=desc
3. cache raw json response per query/page under .cache/usajobs
4. apply local filters after fetching:
   • pay plan in allowed pay plans
   • low_grade >= grade_min
   • high_grade <= grade_max
   • salary max >= salary_min, or salary min >= salary_min if max absent
   • location string contains/near requested location as available
5. output rich table with columns:
   • idx
   • title
   • agency
   • grade
   • salary
   • location
   • close date
   • clearance match
   • url

v1 selection/export behavior:

1. render the rich table of filtered jobs
2. below the table, open a questionary checkbox prompt: "mark jobs to export"
3. each checkbox choice should be a compact one-line label: "[12] dia | gg-15 | $167k-$191k | washington dc | information technology..."
4. value should be stable job id / document id, not table index
5. preselect nothing by default unless --select-all is passed
6. user toggles rows with space, navigates with arrows or j/k, confirms with enter
7. after confirmation, export checked jobs to org
8. selecting nothing exits without writing
9. ctrl-c cancels cleanly

questionary defaults/keys:

• arrows navigate
• j/k navigate
• ctrl-n/ctrl-p navigate
• space toggles mark/unmark
• enter confirms/export
• ctrl-c cancels
• prompt instruction should say: "space=mark/unmark, enter=export, ctrl-c=cancel"

export naming:

• if --out is absent, create a new timestamped file: exports/usajobs_.org
• example: exports/usajobs_washington-dc_2210-0340_gs15_salary150_20260518-1412.org

org output format:

** <shortened job title> [[url][link]]
:properties:
:agency: <agency>
:grade: <pay plan> <low>-<high>
:close_date: <date>
:end:

salary: <salary range>
location: <location>
travel: <travel percentage or unknown>
clearance: <clearance/security text or unknown>

*** posting
<raw posting text>

implementation notes:

• write clean functional code:
  • build_params()
  • fetch_page()
  • fetch_all()
  • normalize_job()
  • passes_filters()
  • render_table()
  • compact_job_label()
  • choose_jobs()
  • export_org()
  • make_output_path()
• normalize both official api shape and frontend-ish shape if present:
  • api jobs may use MatchedObjectDescriptor
  • details may be under UserArea.Details
• normalized job dict should include:
  • document_id
  • title
  • agency
  • department
  • pay_plan
  • low_grade
  • high_grade
  • salary_min
  • salary_max
  • location
  • close_date
  • travel
  • clearance
  • clearance_text_match
  • url
  • raw_posting_text
• raw posting text should combine:
  • title
  • summary
  • duties
  • requirements
  • qualifications
  • evaluations
  • other information
  • key requirements
• shortened job title should be max 80 chars
• compact selection row title should fit reasonably in 120 cols
• compact row should include idx, agency, grade, salary, location, title
• truncate title to about 55 chars in the picker
• avoid putting full url in questionary prompt; keep url in rich table and org output
• include helpful errors if env vars are missing
• never mutate cached raw results

selection implementation hint:

import questionary
from questionary import Choice

def choose_jobs(jobs: list[dict], select_all: bool = False) -> list[dict]:
    by_id = {job["document_id"]: job for job in jobs}

    choices = [
        Choice(
            title=compact_job_label(job, idx),
            value=job["document_id"],
            checked=select_all,
        )
        for idx, job in enumerate(jobs, start=1)
    ]

    selected_ids = questionary.checkbox(
        "mark jobs to export",
        choices=choices,
        instruction="space=mark/unmark, enter=export, ctrl-c=cancel",
        use_jk_keys=True,
        use_emacs_keys=True,
    ).ask()

    if not selected_ids:
        return []

    return [by_id[job_id] for job_id in selected_ids]