Shortener

Context

Most URL shorteners are SaaS products tied to third-party platforms. Shortener was built to run entirely on my own infrastructure — no Vercel or Supabase dependencies — as a practical tool I could deploy on Proxmox and operate long-term with full control over data and uptime.

What I built

Shortener includes:

• A home page to shorten URLs with optional custom aliases and expiration (7/30/90 days)
• QR code generation from the result card or stats table
• URL title preview while typing a destination link
• A stats dashboard with searchable link table, CSV export, and delete actions
• Analytics for daily clicks, top links, top referrers, and configurable date ranges
• Light/dark theme toggle across the UI

Technical approach

I implemented a split architecture: a Next.js frontend with Tailwind CSS and Recharts, backed by a FastAPI API with SQLAlchemy and PostgreSQL. The stack runs via Docker Compose with automatic SQL migrations on API startup, rate limiting on create/delete/redirect endpoints, and optional ADMIN_API_KEY protection for write operations. Operational scripts cover backup, restore, and zero-downtime upgrades, while GitHub Actions runs lint, tests, and Docker builds on every push.

Outcome

Shortener is a production-ready self-hosted utility rather than a prototype. It combines a polished shortening workflow with meaningful click analytics, and the Docker-first design makes it straightforward to deploy, upgrade, and maintain on personal hardware without sacrificing features found in hosted alternatives.