Overview
Your school's slug is a short, unique identifier that appears in the URL of your parent portal. It is how parents find your school's branded login page and it is permanent once the first parent logs in.
What the Slug Does
The slug is the last part of your school's parent portal URL:
app.theonestack.com/portal/shield/your-slug-here
When a parent visits this URL, they see your school's name and logo on the login page before they enter their email. The slug routes their login to the correct school and ensures they land in the right portal.
The slug also appears in invite emails sent to parents, so parents click a link directly to your school's branded page rather than a generic login screen.
Slug Format Rules
A valid slug:
- Is 3 to 50 characters long
- Contains only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens
- Is globally unique — no two schools on the platform can share the same slug
Examples of valid slugs: lincoln-middle, westside-k8, pcs-district
Before finalizing your slug during setup, you can check whether a particular slug is available. The availability check never reveals which school owns an existing slug — it only confirms whether a given value is taken or available.
Slug Locking — Why It Cannot Be Changed
Once your school is activated and a slug is saved, it is locked. After the first parent logs in using your school's portal URL, the slug becomes permanently locked and can never be changed.
The reason is straightforward: the slug is part of the URL in every magic-link email that Shield sends to parents. If the slug changes, every existing link in every parent's inbox becomes broken. Parents who saved the URL as a bookmark or link in their email client would no longer be able to access the portal. Changing the slug mid-operation would effectively lock parents out of the system.
Because of this, choose your slug carefully before activating the school. Consider:
- Will this URL still make sense if the school changes its name?
- Is the slug something parents can easily type if they need to visit manually?
- Does it clearly identify the correct school?
Setting Your Slug
The slug is set during the school activation wizard by the MSP. Once the school is saved and parents begin receiving invites, the slug cannot be altered even by the MSP or platform administrators.
School administrators can update the school's display name and logo at any time — these are the visible branding elements. The slug is the only field that is permanently locked.
What to Do If You Need a Different Slug
If the slug was set incorrectly and no parents have logged in yet, contact your MSP immediately. The slug may be changeable before the lock condition is triggered.
If parents have already used the portal, the slug cannot be changed. The practical workaround is:
- Keep the school's current slug active
- Update the display name and logo to reflect any rebranding
- Parents continue to access the portal at the same URL
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the slug reveal anything about our school to someone who sees the URL?
The slug is visible in the URL but it only returns your school's name and logo — no student data, no alert data, no user information. The page is just a branded login screen.
What if another school already has the slug we want?
Slugs are first-come, first-served and globally unique. You will need to choose a different value. The slug-availability check in the activation wizard can help you find a good alternative.
Can parents access the portal without knowing the slug?
Parents with a magic-link invite email do not need to know the slug — the link takes them directly to the portal. The slug-based URL is useful for return visits or if a parent's invite email is lost.
Is the slug case-sensitive?
No. Slugs are always lowercase and are matched case-insensitively.