zlink

Simple URL Shortener

Overview

zlink is a simple, fast URL shortener built with Node.js, Express, and TypeScript. It exposes a REST API and a clean web UI.

Features

• Shorten any http:// or https:// URL to a compact 7-character code
• Instant redirect when visiting a short link
• Visit stats for every short link
• Simple, responsive web UI

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm

Install & Run

npm install
npm run build
npm start

The server starts on http://localhost:3000 (override with PORT env var).

Development

npm install
npm run dev   # runs with ts-node (no build step required)

Test

npm test

API

POST /api/shorten

Shorten a URL.

Request body

{ "url": "https://example.com/very/long/path" }

Response 201

{
  "code": "aBcD123",
  "shortUrl": "http://localhost:3000/aBcD123",
  "originalUrl": "https://example.com/very/long/path"
}

GET /:code

Redirects (HTTP 301) to the original URL.

GET /api/stats/:code

Returns visit statistics.

Response 200

{
  "code": "aBcD123",
  "originalUrl": "https://example.com/very/long/path",
  "createdAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "visits": 42
}

Project Structure

zlink/
├── src/
│   ├── app.ts       # Express app setup
│   ├── routes.ts    # API route handlers
│   ├── server.ts    # HTTP server entry point
│   ├── store.ts     # In-memory link store
│   └── types.ts     # TypeScript interfaces
├── public/
│   ├── index.html   # Web UI
│   └── 404.html     # Not-found page
└── tests/
    └── app.test.ts  # Integration tests