YOURLS

Running a URL shortener on your own domain

YOURLS, short for Your Own URL Shortener, is a small collection of PHP scripts that lets anyone run a link shortening service in the manner of TinyURL or Bitly. The attraction is ownership. The site stresses full control over data on a domain of the operator's choosing, no dependence on third party services and the chance to brand short links rather than using the same public shortener as everyone else.

Free and open source

The software is free and open source, with no strings attached, and development is supported by sponsors. It can run in a private mode, where only the owner creates short links, or in a public mode where anybody can, which the project suggests is fine for an intranet.

Features

Short links can be created through bookmarklets, which make it easy to shorten and share a page while browsing. A developer API allows other applications to create or look up links, and sample files help build a public interface. Statistics are kept for each short URL, including historical click reports, referrer tracking and the geographic location of visitors.

A plugin architecture is a major part of the project, and the site says dozens of plugins already exist to add new features. Operators can shape the tool to their own needs without touching its core.

Installing it

The installation steps are short. A user unzips the archive, copies the sample configuration file to a working one, fills in the required settings with a plain text editor, uploads the files to the web folder of a domain, creates a database or reuses an existing one and then opens the admin address in a browser. The project documentation covers installation on common web servers and the configuration options in more detail, and a project blog announces updates. The code is downloaded from GitHub.

YOURLS, whose name stands for a self-run URL shortener, is a set of PHP scripts that lets an organisation run its own link-shortening service instead of relying on a public one. The site owner keeps the data and can put short links on a domain of their choosing.

What YOURLS offers

• Self-hosted shortening: runs on the owner's web server with a MySQL database, in the manner of TinyURL or Bitly.
• Private or public mode: links can be created only by the owner, or by anyone, which suits an intranet.
• Statistics: historical click reports, referrer tracking and visitor geo-location for every short link.
• Plugins: a plugin architecture with dozens of add-ons for extra features.
• Bookmarklets and API: bookmarklets for quick sharing and a developer API for connecting other applications.

Clients

Website owners, developers and teams who want control over their link data and a branded domain for short URLs.

Key facts

• Licence: open-source software
• Built with: PHP and MySQL
• Installation help: guides for Apache and Nginx, plus a community list of resources
• Funding: supported by sponsors and donors