# Naming conventions

Good names make shortcuts self-explanatory. Bad names make people stop using them. In the create dialog, enter the shortcut name in the **Slug** field. It becomes part of the shortcut URL.

## Allowed characters

Shortcut names are 1–50 characters. They can contain lowercase letters (a-z), digits (0-9), hyphens, and underscores. The name must start and end with a letter or digit.

- Lowercase letters (a-z)
- Numbers (0-9)
- Hyphens (-) between word segments (for example, `vacation-request`)
- Underscores (_) within the slug

Uppercase letters are automatically converted to lowercase. Spaces are not allowed. Emojis and other special characters are rejected.

## Uniqueness and style

Each shortcut has one canonical name in the **Slug** field, plus optional [aliases](/docs/shortcut-aliases) on Business and Enterprise. `all-hands` and `allhands` are still two different shortcuts if you create both. Agree on one style for your workspace and stick with it. Hyphens are the most common convention because they're standard in URLs and easy to read.

## Length

The hard limit is 50 characters, but shorter names are easier to remember. Aim for one to three words.

Some examples:

| Instead of | Use |
| --- | --- |
| `/vacation-request-form` | `/pto` or `/vacation` |
| `/quarterly-business-review-deck` | `/qbr` |
| `/engineering-team-standup-notes` | `/standup` |
| `/internal-knowledge-base-wiki` | `/wiki` |

## Language

Pick a primary language for canonical slugs in a workspace. In international teams, English is the most common choice. In teams where everyone shares the same language, the local language works fine.

When colleagues need different words for the same link, add [aliases](/docs/shortcut-aliases) instead of duplicating shortcuts — for example `/vacation` with `/urlaub` and `/ferien`.

## Prefixes

For workspaces with many shortcuts, a light prefix can help organize links by area:

- `/hr-pto`, `/hr-payroll`, `/hr-benefits`
- `/it-vpn`, `/it-password`, `/it-ticket`
- `/eng-deploy`, `/eng-runbook`, `/eng-oncall`

Avoid deep hierarchies like `/hr/recruiting/application/form`. Nobody remembers the full path, and department names change over time.

If a term is unambiguous on its own (`/vpn`, `/roadmap`, `/wiki`), skip the prefix.

## Alternative names

Use [shortcut aliases](/docs/shortcut-aliases) when one destination needs more than one handle — abbreviations, typo-catchers, or language variants. Keep one canonical slug and add aliases for the rest so analytics and edits stay in one place.

## Cleanup

Review your shortcuts quarterly. Look for links that haven't been clicked in 90 days, links that point to pages that no longer exist, and names that overlap or conflict. Removing dead shortcuts keeps the library trustworthy and makes search results more useful.