slugID

SlugID is a term used in information systems to refer to an identifier associated with a resource that uses a slug as its URL component. A slug is the URL-friendly text derived from a title, often appearing in the path of a web address. The slugID may be a separate internal identifier, or a derived form that combines the slug with a unique value to reference the resource in databases, APIs, or routing logic.

Common patterns include having a separate numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the resource in a database, using a composite key that combines the slug and the ID, or generating an opaque hash from the slug to serve as the identifier. The choice affects how URLs are formed, how lookups are performed, and how changes to the slug are handled.

SlugIDs can improve stability when slugs change, support efficient lookups, and help decouple URL structure from internal data keys. They may also be used to obscure internal sequential IDs for privacy or security reasons. In many systems, the publicly visible URL uses the slug, while the slugID is stored as metadata or used internally to retrieve the resource.

Important considerations include encoding rules to ensure URL safety, length limits, case sensitivity, and collision handling. When implementing slugID, organizations must decide whether to expose the ID in the URL, how to update the slug if the title changes, and how to migrate existing references to a new slugID.