TinyLink - URL Shortener

A full-stack URL shortener built with React, Node.js, Express, and PostgreSQL. Create short links, track clicks, and manage your URLs with a clean, responsive interface.

Features

• Create custom or auto-generated short links
• Track click statistics for each link
• Search and filter your links
• Responsive design with Tailwind CSS
• Fast redirects with click tracking
• Easy link management (delete links)
• PostgreSQL database for reliability
• URL validation and error handling
• Modern React frontend with component-based architecture
• React Router for seamless navigation

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React + Vite + Tailwind CSS
• Backend: Node.js + Express
• Database: PostgreSQL

Getting Started

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone <https://github.com/farzank69/tinyURL.git>
cd tinyURL

2. Install all dependencies:

npm run install:all

3. Start both servers:

npm run dev

4. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:5173

API Endpoints

Health Check

• GET /healthz - Returns server health status

Link Management

• POST /api/links - Create a new short link
• GET /api/links - Get all links
• GET /api/links/:code - Get stats for a specific link
• DELETE /api/links/:code - Delete a link

Redirect

• GET /:code - Redirect to target URL (302)

API Examples

Create a Link

POST /api/links
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "target_url": "https://example.com",
  "code": "mylink"  // optional, 6-8 alphanumeric characters
}

Response:

{
  "code": "mylink",
  "target_url": "https://example.com",
  "short_url": "http://localhost:3000/mylink",
  "clicks": 0,
  "created_at": "2025-11-21T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Get All Links

GET /api/links

Delete a Link

DELETE /api/links/mylink

Development Scripts

• npm run dev - Start both backend and frontend servers
• npm run install:all - Install all dependencies

Features Overview

Dashboard (http://localhost:5173/)

• Create new short links with optional custom codes
• View all links in a sortable table
• Search/filter links by code or URL
• Copy short URLs to clipboard
• Delete links
• Responsive design for mobile and desktop
• Toast notifications for user feedback

Stats Page (http://localhost:5173/stats/:code)

• View detailed statistics for a link
• See total clicks and last clicked time
• Quick actions: visit link, copy URL
• Delete link from stats page
• Responsive card layout

Redirect (http://localhost:3000/:code)

• Fast 302 redirects
• Automatic click tracking
• 404 for non-existent or deleted links

Author

Farzan Khan | Built as a take-home assignment for URL shortening service.