A simple url shortener written in Node JS using Express and MongoDB.
Description: automatically redirects to saved "long" urls, counts clicks per url and has an API access point to add/edit/view/delete urls via an external app.
Tip
To get the most use out of this app - have it running on a hosting service so it can be accessed from any device. Ideally you'd need a short domain as well for this app to make sense.
- Open a MongoDB project if you don't have one.
- Create a
.envfile and paste your MongoDB connection string in it, the file should look like this:
DB=mongodb+srv://<USERNAME>:<PASSWORD>@<CLUSTER>.mongodb.net/?retryWrites=true&w=majority
LOCAL=true
Important
The LOCAL parameter should only exist locally on your pc, don't include it in the hosted app.
- Create file in your MongoDB database according to the schema in
schemas/access.js:
urlLocal: <local url for the app, for example `http://localhost:8080/`>
urlRemote: <url of the hosted app>
key: <key for your API, will be needed by external apps to access your API>
- Replace
public/images/favicon.icowith an icon of your choice. - Update the landing page
views/home.ejsand the stylesheetpublic/css/style.cssfor your liking. - Run
npm i. - Start
index.js.
- key - The API key mentioned previously.
- act - Action: Can be one of the following: new, page, label, url, search, delete.
- u - Url: The url you'd like to shorten.
- p - Page: The url extension your short url will get. For example,
if your urlRemote=https://myapp.comand p=page, the short url you've registered will be athttps://myapp.com/page. - l (lowercase L) - Label: A readable name for your short url.
- rb - Registered By: Name or ID (depending on platform) of the user that registered the short url.
Note
The n before a parameter name in the editing options indicates "new".
App responds with 401 if request is missing <key>, if it was passed it will respond with JSON containing status and response fields.
The response can be a string indicating an error, or an object containing the fields:
- message
- label
- shortUrl
- orgUrl
- registeredBy
- clicks
Note
Search will return an array of objects instead. (or an empty array)
GET <urlRemote>api?key=<key>&act=new&u=<url>&p=<page>&l=<label>&rb=<user>To edit a short url the rb parameter has to be the same as the user that registered it. If <key> is passed instead, the app will treat the user as an admin and let them bypass this check.
Update url extension of an existing short url.
GET <urlRemote>api?key=<key>&act=page&p=<page>&np=<npage>&rb=<user>Update label of an existing short url.
GET <urlRemote>api?key=<key>&act=label&p=<page>&nl=<nlabel>&rb=<user>Update url of an existing short url.
GET <urlRemote>api?key=<key>&act=url&p=<page>&nu=<nurl>&rb=<user>Searching will by default only return urls registered by the user passed in rb, unless <key> was passed, then the app will treat the user as an admin and let them bypass this check.
Required parameters:
GET <urlRemote>api?key=<key>&act=search&rb=<user>Optional parameters:
u=<url>
p=<page>
l=<label>Note
The app will return an array of objects whose fields included the search parameters passed in the request.
To delete a short url the rb parameter has to be the same as the user that registered it. If <key> is passed instead, the app will treat the user as an admin and let them bypass this check.
GET <urlRemote>api?key=<key>&act=delete&p=<page>&l=<label>&rb=<user>To refresh the database the rb parameter has to be equal to <key>.
Important
If accessed via the API, the database gets refreshed automatically, this action is only necessary if the database was updated manually via MongoDB.
GET <urlRemote>api?key=<key>&act=refresh&rb=<user>The files will need to be according to the schema in schemas/urlpair.js.
url: <The url you'd like to shorten>
page: <The url extension your short url will get>
label: <A readable name for your short url>
registeredBy: <Name or ID of the user that registered the short url>
clicks: 0
After adding files directly to MongoDB, the app will need to be restarted or refreshed via the API.
- Register short urls via an external app that uses the API, or via creating files in your MongoDB database.
- Use the short urls and you will be redirected to their long counterparts automatically.