Turn long, messy links into clean, shareable short URLs - with password protection, custom codes and click tracking

Try the live application here: https://url-shortner-service-eight.vercel.app

• First request may be slightly slow due to backend cold start
• All data is stored in a remote MySQL database which is TiDB Cloud Database

It is a full-stack URL shortening web app. You paste a long URL, and it gives you a short one that redirects anyone who visits it. Think Bit.ly or TinyURL - but built fromm scratch, wih you own features and auth system.

Kwy Things you can do:

• Shorten any URL instantly with a random generated code
• Choose you own custom short code
• Password-protect a link so only people with the password can access it
• Track how many times each link has been clicked
• Delete links you no longer need
• Expand a short URL to see where it actually points befor clicking

1. Log in to your account
2. On the Home page, paste your long URL
3. Choose Random code (auto-generated) or Custom code (your own keyword)
4. Click Generate - your short link is ready to copy and share

1. On the Random Code tab, check "Password Protect"
2. Enter a password
3. Anyone visiting the short link will see a password from before being redirected

• Go to My URLs to see all links you've created
• Each card shows the original URL, short URL, click count and creation data
• Copy or delete any link directly from the list

• React - UI framework
• React Router - page navigation and tab state via URL params
• Framer Motion - smooth tab transition animations
• Tailwind CSS - Styling and layout
• Axios - API requests

• Go (GoLang) - Server Language
• Gin - HTTP web framework and routing
• GROM - ORM for database interactions
• MySQL - relational database (with TLS connection support)
• JWT - authentication tokens
• bcrypt - password hashing

• Go 1.21 +
• Node.js 18+
• MySQL database
• .env file with DB_DSN and DB_CERT

cd server
go mod tidy
go run main.go
o
# Server runs on :8000

cd client
npm install
npm run dev
v
# App runs on :5173

DB_DSN=user:password@tcp(host:port)/dbname?tls=custom&parseTime=truetrue

DB_CERT=-------BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\n...\n----END CERTIFICATE-------

JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret

GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=google_client_id

• Short Code Collision handling - when generating a random code, the server loops and regenerates until a unique code is confirmed against the DB. This prevents duplicates even under high load.

-- TLS-Secured DB connection - the MySQL connection uses a custom TLS config with a CA cert parsed from an environment variable, supporting cloud-hosted databases that require encrypted connections.

• DB connection retry - on startup, the server retries the DB connection up to 5 times with a 3-second delay between attempts, making it resilient to cold-start race conditions.

• Password hashing - link passwords are hashed with bcrypt before storage. Plain-text passwords are never saved. Verification uses bcrypt.Compare.

• Real-time availability - the custom short code input debounces API calls and shows instant feedback ("Available" / "Already Takend") befor the user submits.

• Tab state in URL - the Home page uses useSearchParams to persist the active tab (?tab=random / ?tab=custom) in the URL, so the tab survives page refreshes and can be bookmarked or shared.

• Connection pooling - GORM's underlying sql.DB is configured with max open/idle connections and lifetime limits to prevent connection exhaustion on a hosted DB.

The application includes a dedicated Admin Dashboard that allows priviliged users to manage the entire system.

Only users with admin role can access these endpoints and UI features.

All routes require authentication + admin role

The app includes a browser-based terminal for power users and developers who prefer a keyboard-driven workflow.

shorten 
    generate a random short link
shorten  --pass 
    generate a password-protected short link
custom  
    create a custom short link
check 
    check if a short code is available or not
expand 
    expand a short URL to its original URL
clear
    clear the terminal
help
    show available commands
terminal
help
    show available commands
ble commands