URL Shortener

A URL shortener is a common full-stack machine-coding project.

Features

• submit long URL,
• generate short slug,
• redirect short URL,
• track click count,
• show analytics,
• optional login for managing links.

Backend routes

POST /api/urls
GET /:slug
GET /api/urls/:id/stats

MongoDB model

const urlSchema = new Schema({
  longUrl: { type: String, required: true },
  slug: { type: String, required: true, unique: true },
  clickCount: { type: Number, default: 0 },
  userId: { type: Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: 'User' },
}, { timestamps: true })

Redirect flow

1. User visits /:slug.
2. Backend finds URL by slug.
3. Backend increments click count.
4. Backend redirects to long URL.

res.redirect(url.longUrl)

Edge cases

• invalid URL,
• slug collision,
• missing slug,
• expired URL,
• malicious links,
• analytics accuracy.

What this project proves

• routing,
• validation,
• unique indexes,
• redirect behavior,
• analytics updates,
• practical API/UI integration.