Your own branded link shortener with full click analytics. Pay once. Own it forever. No subscription.
Bitly charges $348/year just to use your own domain with your links — and your click data lives on their servers. Link Shortener runs on your $5 VPS (or right on your desktop), keeps every click in a local SQLite file you own, and never phones home.
- Branded short links — auto-generated or custom slugs on your own domain
- Click analytics — total + unique clicks (privacy-friendly daily IP+UA hash), clicks-over-time chart, top referrers, devices, browsers, and countries
- QR code for every link — downloadable PNG and SVG
- 301 / 302 per link — SEO-permanent or trackable-temporary, your call
- Enable / disable / edit destinations any time without breaking printed QR codes
- UTM builder built into the create form — tag campaigns without a spreadsheet
- Bulk CSV import & export — migrate off Bitly in one paste
- Country detection with zero paid APIs — reads
CF-IPCountrywhen behind Cloudflare (free tier works), degrades gracefully otherwise - 100% local & private — SQLite storage, no telemetry, no external calls
- Two modes — run it as a desktop app, or deploy to a $5 VPS when you need it public
npm i
npm run build # build the React dashboard
npm start # http://localhost:5302Set your admin password first (copy .env.example to .env and change ADMIN_PASSWORD).
npm run desktopOpens the same dashboard in an Electron window, auto-logged-in, with data stored in your user profile. Perfect for QR-code generation and local campaign planning; deploy the exact same code to a VPS when links need to be public.
ADMIN_PASSWORD=supersecret docker compose up -dThe SQLite database persists in ./data. Point your domain (e.g. go.yourbrand.com) at the server, and put free Cloudflare in front to get per-country analytics via the CF-IPCountry header.
| Variable | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
PORT |
5302 |
Server port |
ADMIN_PASSWORD |
changeme |
Dashboard password — change it! |
BASE_URL |
(request host) | Public URL used in QR codes, e.g. https://go.yourbrand.com |
DEFAULT_REDIRECT_TYPE |
302 |
Default status for new links (301 or 302) |
DB_PATH |
./data/links.db |
SQLite file location |
| Link Shortener | Bitly | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29 once | $29/mo ($348/yr) for a custom domain |
| Your own domain | ✅ Included | Paid plans only |
| Links | Unlimited | Capped per plan |
| Click data ownership | ✅ Your SQLite file | Their servers |
| QR codes (PNG + SVG) | ✅ Included | Limited / paid tiers |
| Bulk CSV import/export | ✅ | Paid tiers |
| UTM builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Tracking pixels / telemetry | ❌ None | Their business model |
| Works offline / on LAN | ✅ | ❌ |
Don't want to touch a terminal? Grab the packaged one-click installer (plus updates and setup support) for a single one-time payment:
- Server: Node 20+, Express, better-sqlite3 (WAL mode), qrcode, ua-parser-js
- Dashboard: React 19 + Vite, Tailwind CSS 4, Lucide icons, Framer Motion
- Desktop: thin Electron wrapper around the same server (electron-builder NSIS config included)
- Tests:
npm testboots the real server and exercises redirect, logging, analytics, QR, and CSV end to end
All admin endpoints require the session cookie from POST /api/login.
| Method & path | Purpose |
|---|---|
POST /api/login {password} |
Get session cookie |
GET /api/links |
List links with click counts |
POST /api/links {destination, slug?, redirect_type?} |
Create link |
PUT /api/links/:id |
Edit destination / slug / redirect type / enabled |
DELETE /api/links/:id |
Delete link + its clicks |
GET /api/links/:id/analytics?days=30 |
Totals, uniques, series, referrers, devices, browsers, countries |
GET /api/links/:id/qr?format=svg |
QR code (PNG default, SVG optional) |
GET /api/export.csv / POST /api/import |
Bulk CSV out / in |
GET /:slug |
The redirect itself (logs the click) |
MIT © 2026 Ben (bensblueprints)