> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.workway.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Core concepts

> Slugs, the two links on every job, resources, and how plans affect tools.

## Slugs, not ids

Jobs and companies are addressed by **slug** — a lowercase, hyphenated string —
never a numeric id.

```text theme={null}
Job:     ping-identity-staff-software-engineer-8676157002
Company: y-combinator
```

Get a job slug from `search_jobs`. Get a company slug from search results, or
from [the company directory](https://workway.dev/companies). Passing an unknown
slug returns an error that names the problem and points at where to find valid
values, rather than an empty result you might mistake for "nothing is open".

## Two links on every job

Every job a tool returns carries two URLs, deliberately:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="apply_url" icon="arrow-up-right-from-square">
    The untouched posting on the company's own ATS. **This is where people
    apply.** WorkWay never sits between the applicant and the employer.
  </Card>

  <Card title="workway_url" icon="link">
    The role's page on workway.dev — useful for company context, related roles
    and salary data.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Resources

Alongside tools, the server exposes three MCP **resources** carrying reference
material an assistant can read directly:

| URI               | Contents                                                                       |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `workway://about` | What WorkWay is, how data is sourced, live coverage numbers, plan differences. |
| `workway://tools` | Tool catalog, filter vocabularies, slug conventions.                           |
| `workway://api`   | The underlying REST API, the MCP endpoint, sitemaps, auth model.               |

<Tip>
  Not every MCP client surfaces resources. The `get_workway_info` tool returns
  the same material, so an assistant always has a way to reach it.
</Tip>

## Free and Pro

A free account can use **every tool**: searching, saving jobs, following
companies and editing a talent profile all work with no paid plan.

Pro adds one thing — **instant email alerts**. When a company you follow posts a
new role, Pro accounts get an email straight away rather than finding out later.

<Warning>
  `follow_company` is **never plan-gated**. The follow itself always succeeds on
  every plan; only the email delivery requires Pro. The tool's response says so
  explicitly on the free plan, so nobody is left assuming alerts are switched on
  when they are not.
</Warning>

`list_alerts` reports `email_alerts_active` for the same reason — it is always
unambiguous whether emails will actually arrive.

## Errors

Tool errors are written to be actionable rather than terse:

```text theme={null}
No job found with slug "nope-not-real". Use search_jobs to find the correct slug.
```

```text theme={null}
Invalid platform: monster. Allowed: greenhouse, ashby, ycombinator, or 'all'.
```

Filter validation is delegated to the same service that powers
`GET /api/job/list`, so the MCP surface and the website can never disagree about
what a valid domain, level or source is.