Nova - URL Shortener

A modern and elegant URL shortener built with Next.js 16, offering an intuitive user interface and advanced features to manage your shortened links.

✨ Features

• 🔗 URL Shortening: Transform your long links into short and memorable ones
• 🎨 Custom Links: Create short links with a custom alias (reserved for premium users)
• 🔐 Secure Authentication: Sign up and login system with JWT
• 📊 User Dashboard: Manage all your links from a dedicated interface
• 🌓 Dark/Light Mode: Adaptive interface with customizable themes
• ⚡ Optimal Performance: Integration with Vercel Analytics and Speed Insights
• 🎯 Premium: Advanced features for premium users

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Framework: Next.js 16 with App Router
• Language: TypeScript
• Database: MySQL with mysql2
• Authentication: JWT (jsonwebtoken) with bcryptjs
• UI/UX:
  • Tailwind CSS 4
  • Radix UI (accessible components)
  • Lucide React (icons)
  • next-themes (theme management)
• ID Generation: nanoid
• Analytics: Vercel Analytics & Speed Insights

📋 Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have installed:

• Node.js 20.x or higher
• Bun (recommended package manager) or npm
• MySQL 8.x or higher

🚀 Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/libnaus/nova.git
cd nova

2. Install dependencies

bun install

3. Configure the database

Create a MySQL database:

mysql -u root -p

CREATE DATABASE nova;
USE nova;

Import the database schema:

mysql -u root -p nova < nova_schema.sql

4. Environment variables configuration

Create a .env.local file at the root of the project:

# MySQL Database
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=3306
DB_USER=root
DB_PASSWORD=your_password
DB_NAME=nova

# JWT Secret (generate a secure random key)
JWT_SECRET=your_very_secure_jwt_secret

Important: Generate a secure JWT_SECRET:

# With Node.js
node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

5. Launch the application

In development mode:

bun dev

The application will be accessible at http://localhost:3000

In production mode:

bun build
bun start

🔑 Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Required	Default
DB_HOST	MySQL database host	Yes	localhost
DB_PORT	MySQL port	No	3306
DB_USER	MySQL user	Yes	root
DB_PASSWORD	MySQL password	Yes	-
DB_NAME	Database name	No	nova
JWT_SECRET	Secret to sign JWT tokens	Yes	-

🎯 Usage

Shorten a link (anonymous user)

1. Paste your long URL in the input field
2. Click "Shorten"
3. Copy and share your short link!

Create a custom link (premium user)

1. Log in with a premium account
2. Enter your URL
3. Customize the alias in the "Custom link" field
4. Shorten and share!

Manage your links

1. Log in to your account
2. Click on the dashboard icon
3. View, copy, or delete your links

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

1. Fork the project
2. Create a branch (git checkout -b feature/improvement)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add a feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/improvement)
5. Open a Pull Request

📝 License

All contents located in the /public/ directory, including files, assets, and media, are © 2025 Timeo Bavart. All rights reserved. No part of these materials may be copied, distributed, or used without explicit permission from the copyright holder.

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See the LICENSE file for more details.