---
id: tracer-links
title: Tracer Links
description: Track outbound resume-link clicks with per-job toggles and privacy-safe analytics.
sidebar_position: 8
---

## What it is

Tracer Links are per-job redirect links that are generated when a PDF is created.

When enabled for a job, JobOps rewrites eligible outbound RxResume links to your JobOps host, then redirects to the original destination after recording a click event.

Examples:

- original: `https://github.com/yourname`
- traced: `https://jobops.dakheera47.com/cv/amazon-de`

Format details:

- path prefix is always `/cv/`
- token format is `<company-slug>-<xx>`
- `<xx>` is two lowercase letters (`a-z`)
- visible link text in the PDF is also updated to the traced URL

## Why it exists

Without tracer links, resume links are "fire and forget".

Tracer links let you answer:

- whether links in a specific job PDF were opened
- which destination links are being opened most
- rough human vs bot traffic split
- per-job and global engagement trends over time

The feature is privacy-safe by design:

- no raw IP is stored
- referrer host is stored (not full referrer URL)
- bot traffic is flagged and can be filtered in analytics

## How to use it

1. Open **Settings** and go to the **Tracer Links** section.
2. Click **Verify now** and confirm status is **Ready**.
3. Open a job in **Jobs**.
4. Enable **Tracer links for this job** in tailoring or job details.
5. Generate or regenerate the PDF.
6. Open **Tracer Links** in navigation to view:
   - global totals
   - top jobs and top links
   - per-job drilldown by Job ID

Important behavior:

- Tracer links are **off by default** per job.
- Toggle changes apply on the **next PDF generation only**.
- Existing PDFs are not modified retroactively.
- Existing tracer URLs remain valid, even if a newer PDF generates new links.

### Readiness and enable/disable behavior

You can only turn tracer links **on** when readiness is healthy.

Readiness checks:

- a resolvable public base URL
- a successful health probe to `<public-base-url>/health`
- a non-localhost/non-private host for public usage

If readiness is unavailable, enable is blocked until verification passes.

### Required background-run setting

If PDFs are generated by background pipeline runs, set:

```bash
JOBOPS_PUBLIC_BASE_URL=https://your-jobops-host
```

JobOps uses this URL when request host inference is not available.

### URL uniqueness rules

Tracer links are unique enough for tracking while still readable.

- same job + same source path + same destination URL => token is reused
- same job + same source path + changed destination URL => new token
- old tokens continue to redirect (not retroactively deleted)

### Risk and responsibility disclaimer

Tracer links are redirect links. Some recruiters, companies, universities, or security tools may treat redirects as suspicious behavior and may whitelist, blacklist, filter, or flag these links as phishing-like.

By enabling and using this feature, you accept full responsibility for any consequences that result from its use. Responsibility for policy, trust, and reputation outcomes sits with the user/operator of the instance, not with the app.

## Common problems

### I cannot enable tracer links

Cause:

- readiness is not **Ready**
- host is local/private or unreachable from the verifier

Fix:

- configure a real public host
- set `JOBOPS_PUBLIC_BASE_URL` for background flows
- make sure `<public-base-url>/health` is reachable
- retry **Verify now**

### Tracer links enabled but PDF generation fails

Cause:

- base URL cannot be resolved at generation time, or instance health is not reachable for that run

Fix:

- ensure `JOBOPS_PUBLIC_BASE_URL` is set correctly
- verify the deployment is publicly reachable
- regenerate the PDF

### I enabled tracer links, but old PDF still has direct links

Cause:

- toggle changes only apply to newly generated PDFs

Fix:

- regenerate the PDF for that job

### Analytics look inflated by scanners

Cause:

- link scanners and preview bots may open links automatically

Fix:

- use the **Include likely bots** filter in Tracer Links analytics

## Related pages

- [Settings](/docs/next/features/settings)
- [Reactive Resume](/docs/next/features/reactive-resume)
- [Find Jobs and Apply Workflow](/docs/next/workflows/find-jobs-and-apply-workflow)
- [Post-Application Tracking](/docs/next/features/post-application-tracking)