# Glossary > What do canonical job, p_real, waterfall and other BetterJobs terms mean? Source: https://docs.betterjobs.cc/resources/glossary/ Short definitions, A to Z. Each links to the page that explains it in full. Names in `code` are exact API field or value names. ### Already paid A job you were charged for before. Returning it again, from any endpoint, costs 0 credits. Counted in `metadata.jobs_already_paid` and shown in the ledger with `reason: already_paid`. See [Credits and billing](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/concepts/credits-and-billing.md). ### Async search A search for up to 10,000 jobs that runs in the background. Start it with `POST /v1/searches`, then poll `GET /v1/searches/{id}` or receive `search.completed`. Branch on its `status`: `queued`, `running`, `completed`, `partial`, `failed` or `on_hold`. See [Async searches](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/platform/async-searches.md). ### BetterJobs index BetterJobs’ own job sources: an owned crawl of employer career pages and ATSs. Slug `betterjobs`. Available on every plan, and searched first by `cheapest_first`. See [BetterJobs index](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/providers/betterjobs-index.md). ### Canonical job One real opening, merged from every source that saw it. It has one stable `id` (`job_...`) no matter how many providers listed it or how often it was reposted. See [Canonical jobs](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/concepts/canonical-jobs.md). ### Consensus A waterfall strategy that returns only jobs seen by at least `min_sources` sources (default 2). Fewer jobs, more confidence. See [Choose a strategy](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/guides/choose-a-strategy.md). ### Credit The billing unit. 1 credit = 1 unique job returned that you have not already paid for. Company profiles cost 1 credit each, and each `job.opened` a watch delivers costs 1 credit unless you already paid for that job. See [Credits and billing](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/concepts/credits-and-billing.md). ### Cursor An opaque string that points to the next page. Pass `next_cursor` back as `cursor`. `next_cursor: null` means the last page. On `GET /v1/events` you pass it as `since`. See [Pagination](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/platform/pagination.md). ### Dry run A free estimate. Send `"dry_run": true` on `POST /v1/jobs/search` and get `expected_unique_jobs_range`, `providers_planned` and `credits_range` without fetching any jobs. ### Duplicate A provider record that describes a job already in the results. BetterJobs merges it into the canonical job and adds it to `sources[]`. Duplicates are free. Counted in `metadata.duplicates_merged`. ### Event A typed message about a change, such as `job.opened` or `company.hiring_stopped`. Delivered by webhook and readable from `GET /v1/events`. See [Events](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/data/events.md). ### Field coverage `metadata.field_coverage`: for each field, the fraction (0-1) of returned jobs that have a non-null value. It is measured on your actual results, per request. See [Field dictionary](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/data/field-dictionary.md). ### First seen, last seen, last verified Three timestamps on every job. `first_seen_at`: earliest time any source saw it. `last_seen_at`: latest time any source saw it. `last_verified_at`: latest time it was confirmed live at its origin. `posted_at` is the employer’s own date, often unknown. See [Freshness and lifecycle](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/concepts/freshness-and-lifecycle.md). ### Hiring pulse `hiring_pulse` on a company profile: `direction` (`up`, `flat`, `down`) and `open_jobs_30d_change`. See [Companies](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/data/companies.md). ### Idempotency key The `Idempotency-Key` header on a `POST`. A retry with the same key and body returns the first response and never charges twice. The same key with a different body returns `409 idempotency_conflict`. See [Idempotency](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/platform/idempotency.md). ### is\_hiring A company’s hiring answer: `value` (`true`, `false` or `null`), `confidence` (0-1) and a plain-English `basis`. `null` means unknown. Never treat `null` as `false`. See [field reference](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/data/field-dictionary.md#field-company-is_hiring-value). ### Ledger `GET /v1/billing/ledger`: one entry per job per charge or free re-read, with the `request_id` that caused it. Your proof of what you paid for. See [Credits and billing](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/concepts/credits-and-billing.md). ### License `license` on every job. `display`: you may show the job to your end users. `resale`: you may resell or redistribute it as data. See [Licensing](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/concepts/licensing.md). ### max\_credits `waterfall.max_credits`: a hard cap on what one request may charge. Results stop at the cap. ### on\_hold An async search `status` that means you ran out of credits. The search resumes after a top-up. ### p\_real The probability (0-1) that a job is a real open req, from how many independent sources corroborate it. See [Provenance and confidence](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/concepts/provenance-and-confidence.md) and the [field reference](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/data/field-dictionary.md#field-job-p_real). ### Partial `metadata.status: partial`: at least one provider failed or missed `timeout_ms`. You still get `200`, the other sources’ jobs, and you pay only for those. The failures are in `metadata.providers.failed`. See [Provider status](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/resources/provider-status.md). ### Partner provider One of the six third-party sources BetterJobs routes to: Reqbeat, SignalsAPI, TheirStack, JobsPipe, Coresignal and Techmap. Growth includes two, Pro and above include all six. See [Providers](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/providers.md). ### Provenance Where each part of a job came from. `sources[]` lists every provider that saw the job, its own id and URL, when it saw it, and which `fields` it contributed. See [Provenance and confidence](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/concepts/provenance-and-confidence.md). ### Provider Any source BetterJobs can route to: the six partner providers plus the BetterJobs index. Identified by its slug. `GET /v1/providers` lists them with live status. ### Repost The same job listed again. BetterJobs keeps the same canonical `id` and raises `repost_count`. A watch sends `job.reposted`, which should never re-trigger outbound. ### Sandbox `POST /v1/sandbox/jobs/search`: same request and response shape as the live search, no key, fixed illustrative data, nothing charged. ### Strategy `waterfall.strategy`: how BetterJobs picks and orders providers. One of `cheapest_first` (default), `freshest_first`, `max_coverage`, `consensus`, `own_only`. See [Choose a strategy](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/guides/choose-a-strategy.md). ### timeout\_ms `waterfall.timeout_ms`: the time budget for one request, 1,000 to 30,000 ms (default 10,000). Providers slower than this are dropped and the result is `partial`. ### Unique job A canonical job counted once, however many providers returned it. What a credit buys. ### Version The date in the `BetterJobs-Version` header, currently `2026-10-01`. Changes inside a version are additive only. See [Versioning](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/platform/versioning.md). ### Watch A standing subscription to a company domain (`type: company`) or a saved filter (`type: search`). Matching events go to its `webhook_url`. Free to create. See [Detect hiring changes](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/guides/detect-hiring-changes.md). ### Waterfall How BetterJobs runs one search across many providers: it asks them according to the strategy, merges what they return into canonical jobs, and removes duplicates. See [Waterfall](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/concepts/waterfall.md). ### Webhook signature The `BetterJobs-Signature` header on every delivery: `t=,v1=`. `v1` is the HMAC-SHA256 of `.` with your endpoint secret. See [Webhooks](https://docs.betterjobs.cc/platform/webhooks.md).