URL Shortener API

A production-ready URL Shortener built with Node.js, Express, and SQLite. Dockerized and ready for deployment.

Features

• Shorten URLs with validation
• Custom aliases
• Expiration dates
• Click tracking (analytics)
• Rate limiting
• SQLite database with auto-migration
• Docker support with multi-stage builds (runs tests during build)

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 18
• Docker & Docker Compose (optional)

Setup & Running Locally

1. Install Dependencies

   npm install

2. Configure Environment Copy .env.example to .env:

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env if needed

3. Run Tests

   npm test

4. Start Server

   npm start
   # Or for development with nodemon:
   npm run dev

Docker

Build and Run

This will build the image (running tests inside) and start the service with a persistent SQLite volume.

docker-compose up --build

Build Only

docker build -t url-shortener .

API Usage

1. Shorten URL

POST /api/shorten

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/shorten \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "longUrl": "https://www.google.com", "customAlias": "go-google", "expiresInDays": 7 }'

Response:

{
  "code": "go-google",
  "shortUrl": "http://localhost:3000/go-google",
  "longUrl": "https://www.google.com",
  "expiresAt": "2023-10-27T10:00:00.000Z",
  "createdAt": "2023-10-20T10:00:00.000Z"
}

2. Redirect

GET /:code

Opens the short URL in browser or redirects via curl.

curl -L -v http://localhost:3000/go-google

3. Get URL Info

GET /api/info/:code

curl http://localhost:3000/api/info/go-google

Response:

{
  "longUrl": "https://www.google.com",
  "createdAt": "...",
  "expiresAt": "...",
  "clicks": 5,
  "lastAccessedAt": "..."
}

4. Health Check

GET /health

curl http://localhost:3000/health

CI/CD Deployment (AWS EC2)

To deploy to AWS EC2 via GitHub Actions, configure the following GitHub Secrets:

1. EC2_HOST: Public IP or DNS of your EC2 instance.
2. EC2_USERNAME: SSH username (e.g., ubuntu or ec2-user).
3. EC2_SSH_KEY: Private SSH key content (PEM).

Workflow Overview (conceptual):

1. CI: On push to main, run npm test.
2. CD:
   • Log in to Docker Registry (Docker Hub or ECR).
   • Build and push image: docker build -t myuser/url-shortener . && docker push myuser/url-shortener.
   • SSH into EC2.
   • Run docker pull myuser/url-shortener.
   • Run docker-compose up -d.

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
PORT	3000	Server port
BASE_URL	http://localhost:3000	Base URL for short links
DB_PATH	./data/urls.db	Path to SQLite database file
APP_VERSION	dev	Application version tag
NODE_ENV	development	Environment (production/development)