Take Control of Your Links - Exploring Open-Source URL Shorteners

URL shorteners are handy tools for condensing long URLs into more manageable links, but relying on third-party services can raise privacy and reliability concerns.

Fortunately, several open-source URL shorteners allow you to host and manage your own links.

This post explores some of the options available:

And how to SelfHost these URL Shorteners with containers.

Why Use an Open-Source URL Shortener?

• Privacy: You control your data and avoid tracking by third-party services.
• Customization: You can often customize the short URLs and branding.
• Reliability: Your links are independent of external services.
• Control: You have complete control over your link management.

Open-Source URL Shortener Options

Here are some popular open-source URL shorteners:

• Shlink: A powerful and feature-rich URL shortener offering link tracking, analytics, and API access. It’s a robust solution for those needing advanced features.

• Shlink

• See also: Installing Shlink on Synology NAS

• Dub: An open-source link management infrastructure designed for modern marketing teams. Dub provides tools for link attribution, analytics, and more. It’s used by companies like Vercel and Raycast.

• Dub

  Open-source link management infrastructure. Loved by modern marketing teams like Vercel, Raycast, and Perplexity.

At the time of writting, Dub seems to be the most popular one!

• Sink: A simple, speedy, and secure link shortener built to run entirely on Cloudflare. Sink offers analytics and leverages the speed and reliability of Cloudflare’s infrastructure.

• Sink

• Sink on GitHub

  ⚡ A Simple / Speedy / Secure Link Shortener with Analytics, 100% run on Cloudflare.

  Deploy it with Cloudflare (?) See deployment instructions

• Kutt: A modern URL shortener with support for custom domains. Kutt allows you to shorten URLs, manage your links, and view click-rate statistics.

• Kutt

• Kutt on GitHub

• YOURLS: A self-hosted URL shortener that gives you complete control over your links. YOURLS is a classic and well-established option.

• YOURLS

• YOURLS on GitHub

• TinyURL (Self-Hostable Version): While the popular TinyURL service is proprietary, there’s also an open-source version you can host yourself. TinyURL on GitHub

• Snapp: A simple URL shortener built with Svelte. Snapp is a good option for those looking for a lightweight and easy-to-deploy solution.

• Snapp

• Snapp on GitHub is completely OSS, under MIT License

• Snapp Docker Image

Yet Another Url Shortner. A simple exercise to learn Svelte.

Setup Snapp with docker container ⏬

#version: "3"
services:
redis:
    image: redis/redis-stack:latest
    volumes:
    - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
    - /home/snapp/redis:/data:rw 
    networks:
    - snapp-stack
    environment:
    REDIS_ARGS: "--save 60 1 --appendonly yes" 
    # Optional: Requires `--requirepass mypassword` in REDIS_ARGS
snapp:
    image: uraniadev/snapp:0.7.test
    ports:
    - 3000:3000
    networks:
    - snapp-stack
    environment:
    DB_HOST: redis
    # DB_PASS: 
    AUTH_SECRET: # openssl rand -base64 32
    
networks:
snapp-stack: 
    external: false

Conclusion

Using an open-source URL shortener gives you control, privacy, and customization over your links.

Whether you need a simple solution or a more advanced platform, there are open-source options available to meet your needs.

Choosing the Right Tool

The best open-source URL shortener for you depends on your specific needs:

• Simple and Lightweight: If you need a basic URL shortener without many bells and whistles, Snapp or TinyURL might be good choices.
• Feature-Rich: For advanced features like link tracking, analytics, and custom domains, Shlink or Dub are excellent options.
• Cloudflare Integration: If you’re using Cloudflare, Sink is a good choice.
• Ease of Use: Kutt and YOURLS are known for their user-friendly interfaces.

Remember to consider factors like ease of installation, required features, and community support when making your decision.