What Is a Slug?

A slug is a unique identifier that also denotes a reference to a unique identifier (pointer). In TDP, any concept that needs to be uniquely referenced is assigned a slug. For example, each of the following have slugs:

• Organizations: Organizations have a slug that is sometimes referred to as an orgslug. An organizational slug is required for some tasks, such as running an API or creating a self-service pipeline. You can locate your organizational slug on the Organizational Details page.

• IDS: Different types of Intermediate Data Schemas (IDS) are also identified by slugs. For example, lcuv-empower and akta are two slugs that are related to vendors of instruments. You can locate these IDS-type slugs on the View IDS Types page.

• Pipeline Protocols: These slugs serve as unique identifiers for some of the different components in a protocol (such as, a step name). For a detailed description of these slugs, and how to use them if you are creating a pipeline yourself, review this Slugs and Self-Serve Pipelines topic.