Short.en

A full-stack URL shortener with analytics, user authentication, and device/geo targeting. Built with React (Vite) for the frontend and Node.js/Express/MongoDB for the backend.

Features

• Shorten URLs with optional custom aliases
• User registration and login (session-based and API key)
• Password-protected links
• Expiry by date or click count
• Device and geo-targeting for links
• Analytics: click tracking, tags, and more
• Admin dashboard (WIP)

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Vite, TailwindCSS, Axios
• Backend: Node.js, Express, MongoDB, Mongoose
• Authentication: express-session, connect-mongo, bcryptjs

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+ recommended)
• MongoDB instance (local or cloud)

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the Backend/ directory with:

MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
SECRET_KEY=your_session_secret
BASE_URL=https://short-en.onrender.com/

Installation

Backend

cd Backend
npm install
npm run dev

Frontend

cd Frontend
npm install
npm run dev

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API Documentation

Authentication

Register

• POST /auth/register
• Body: { name, emailAddress, password }
• Response: { success, message, data: { newUser } }

Login

• POST /auth/login
• Body: { emailAddress, password }
• Response: { success, message, data: { currentUser } }

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URL Shortening

Create Short Link

• POST /
• Body:
  • originalUrl (string, required)
  • preferredText (string, optional)
  • expiryDate (date, optional)
  • expiryClicks (number, optional)
• Response: { success, message, data: { newLink } }

Get All Links

• GET /
• Response: { success, message, data: { allLinks } }

Redirect to Original URL

• GET /:shortLinkId
• Response: Redirects to the original URL

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Link Model

• originalUrl: Original URL
• shortLinkId: Unique short code
• preferredText: Custom alias
• expiryDate: Expiry date
• expiryClicks: Max allowed clicks
• tags: Array of tags
• expiryType: "never", "expiryClicks", or "expiryDate"
• password: (hashed) password for protected links
• clickCount: Number of times accessed
• passwordProtected: Boolean
• geoTargeting: { enabled, locations }
• deviceTargeting: { enabled, devices }
• shortLink: Virtual, full short URL

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Frontend Usage

• Main form: Enter original URL and (optionally) preferred text
• Displays the generated short link
• (WIP) Admin dashboard and analytics

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Development

• Backend: cd Backend && npm run dev
• Frontend: cd Frontend && npm run dev

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License

MIT

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Author

saad idris