🔗 URL Shortener API

A simple and fast URL shortener REST API built with Node.js, Express, and MongoDB.

✨ Features

• Shorten long URLs into compact 6-character codes
• Redirect and retrieve original URLs
• Update or delete shortened URLs
• Track access statistics per link

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Runtime: Node.js
• Framework: Express 5
• Database: MongoDB (via Mongoose)
• ID Generation: nanoid

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+)
• A MongoDB instance (local or Atlas)

Installation

git clone https://github.com/your-username/url-shortener.git
cd url-shortener
npm install

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory:

MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
PORT=3000

Run

# Development (auto-restart with nodemon)
npm run dev

# Production
npm start

📡 API Endpoints

Base URL: http://localhost:3000/api/url

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/	Create a shortened URL
GET	/:shortUrl	Get the original URL
PUT	/:shortUrl	Update the original URL
DELETE	/:shortUrl	Delete a shortened URL
GET	/:shortUrl/stats	Get access stats for a URL

Create a Short URL

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/url \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com/very-long-url"}'

Response 201 Created

{
  "url": {
    "_id": "...",
    "url": "https://example.com/very-long-url",
    "shortUrl": "a1B2c3",
    "accessCount": 0,
    "createdAt": "...",
    "updatedAt": "..."
  }
}

Get Original URL

curl http://localhost:3000/api/url/a1B2c3

Update a URL

curl -X PUT http://localhost:3000/api/url/a1B2c3 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com/new-url"}'

Delete a URL

curl -X DELETE http://localhost:3000/api/url/a1B2c3

Get Stats

curl http://localhost:3000/api/url/a1B2c3/stats

📁 Project Structure

url-shortener/
├── src/
│   ├── app.js              # Express app & MongoDB connection
│   ├── controllers/
│   │   └── short.js        # Route handlers (CRUD + stats)
│   ├── models/
│   │   └── Url.js          # Mongoose schema
│   └── routes/
│       └── shorten.js      # API route definitions
├── .env
├── .gitignore
└── package.json

📄 License

ISC

https://roadmap.sh/projects/url-shortening-service