Creating Links

Creating short links on shrtnr is simple and fast. This guide covers the entire link creation workflow, from basic anonymous links to fully customized short URLs with custom slugs and expiration dates.

Creating a Basic Short Link

You don’t need an account to create short links. Here’s how:

Navigate to the home page

Visit the shrtnr home page at /. You’ll see a prominent URL input field in the hero section.

Paste your long URL

In the input field labeled “Paste your long URL here”, enter the full URL you want to shorten.The URL must be a valid format. Examples:

https://example.com/very/long/path/to/page?query=params
https://docs.example.com/documentation/getting-started
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Click 'Shorten'

Click the Shorten button (or press Enter). The system will:

Validate your URL
Generate a random 8-character short code
Store the URL mapping in the database
Return the short URL
Automatically copy it to your clipboard

Use your short link

A toast notification will appear with your short link (e.g., Short link copied: https://shrtnr.app/abc12345).Share this link anywhere - when someone clicks it, they’ll be redirected to your original URL.

Anonymous links (created without signing in) are stored in the database but cannot be managed or tracked in a dashboard. Sign in to access link management features.

Creating Links with an Account

When you’re signed in, you unlock powerful customization options:

Custom Slugs

Instead of random short codes, you can choose memorable slugs for your links.

Make sure you’re signed in. You’ll know you’re authenticated when you see additional fields below the main URL input.

Enter your destination URL

Paste the long URL you want to shorten in the main input field.

Specify a custom slug

In the Custom slug (optional) field, enter your desired short code.For example, entering my-link will create https://shrtnr.app/my-link.

Click 'Shorten'

Submit the form. If the slug is available and valid, your custom short link will be created.

Slug validation rules

Custom slugs must follow these rules:

Allowed characters

Only letters (a-z, A-Z), numbers (0-9), hyphens (-), and underscores (_) are permitted.Examples:

✅ my-link
✅ promo_2024
✅ Campaign123
❌ my link (spaces not allowed)
❌ promo@sale (special characters not allowed)

Length requirements

Slugs must be between 1 and 20 characters long.

✅ a (minimum)
✅ my-custom-short-link (18 characters)
❌ “ (empty)
❌ this-is-a-very-long-slug-name (29 characters, too long)

Uniqueness

Each slug must be unique across the entire platform. If someone else has already used my-link, you’ll receive an error: Slug already in use.Try variations:

my-link-2024
my_link_v2
mylink-alt

If you try to use a custom slug without being signed in, you’ll receive an error: Sign in to use a custom slug. Authentication is required for this feature.

Setting Expiration Dates

Control how long your short links remain active by setting an expiration date.

Access the expiry control

When signed in, you’ll see an Expires in (days, 1–30) field below the custom slug input.

Set the number of days

Enter a number between 1 and 30 to set how many days from now the link will expire.

Default: 7 days
Minimum: 1 day
Maximum: 30 days

The input automatically clamps values outside this range.

Create the link

When you click Shorten, the system calculates the expiration date:

expiresAt = now + (expiresInDays * 24 hours)

For example, if you set 7 days, the link will expire exactly 7 days from the creation timestamp.

After a link expires, attempts to visit it will result in an error or redirect. Expired links can be viewed in your dashboard but cannot be accessed by visitors.

Combining Custom Slugs and Expiration

You can use both features together:

{
  "url": "https://example.com/sale",
  "customSlug": "holiday-sale",
  "expiresInDays": 14
}

This creates https://shrtnr.app/holiday-sale that expires in 14 days.

Link Creation API

The link creation process sends a POST request to /api/shorten with the following payload:

Request format

{
  "url": "https://example.com/path",      // required
  "customSlug": "my-link",                // optional, requires auth
  "expiresInDays": 7                      // optional, requires auth
}

Response format

On success:

{
  "shortCode": "abc12345",
  "shortUrl": "https://shrtnr.app/abc12345"
}

Error responses

Status	Error	Cause
400	`URL is required`	Missing or empty URL
400	`Invalid URL`	URL format is invalid
400	`Invalid slug`	Custom slug violates validation rules
400	`Slug already in use`	Custom slug is taken
401	`Sign in to use a custom slug`	Attempted custom slug without auth
500	`Something went wrong`	Server or database error

UI Behavior

Button states

The Shorten button has three states:

Disabled (no URL entered)
- Appears grayed out
- Cursor shows “not-allowed”
- Button text: “Shorten”
Processing (request in flight)
- Button disabled
- Reduced opacity
- Button text: “Shortening…”
Ready (URL entered, not processing)
- Fully interactive
- Button text: “Shorten”
- Click to submit

Automatic clipboard copy

When a short link is successfully created:

The short URL is automatically copied to your clipboard via navigator.clipboard.writeText()
A toast notification appears: Short link copied: https://shrtnr.app/...
You can immediately paste the link wherever you need it

If clipboard access fails (due to browser permissions), the toast will still show your short URL so you can copy it manually.

Best Practices

Choose meaningful slugs

For links you’ll share frequently, use descriptive custom slugs:

blog-post-seo instead of random codes
webinar-2024 for event links
github-repo for repositories

This makes links easier to remember and more trustworthy.

Set appropriate expiration dates

Match expiration to your use case:

1-3 days: Time-sensitive promotions, flash sales
7 days: Weekly newsletters, temporary campaigns
14-30 days: Monthly events, longer campaigns

Avoid setting very short expirations for links you plan to share widely.

Validate URLs before shortening

Make sure your destination URL:

Includes the protocol (https://, not just example.com)
Is correctly formatted with no typos
Points to an active, accessible page

Invalid destinations will confuse users who click your short link.

Next Steps

After creating your short links:

View all links: Visit your dashboard (see Dashboard guide) to see all links you’ve created
Edit links: Change slugs or expiration dates in the dashboard
Track performance: Monitor click counts for each link
Manage links: Delete links you no longer need

Learn more in the Managing Links guide.

Get Started

Core Features

User Guide

Deployment

Creating Links

Creating a Basic Short Link

Creating Links with an Account

Custom Slugs

Slug validation rules

Setting Expiration Dates

Combining Custom Slugs and Expiration

Link Creation API

Request format

Response format

Error responses

UI Behavior

Button states

Automatic clipboard copy

Best Practices

Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Features

User Guide

Deployment

​Creating a Basic Short Link

​Creating Links with an Account

​Custom Slugs

​Slug validation rules

​Setting Expiration Dates

​Combining Custom Slugs and Expiration

​Link Creation API

​Request format

​Response format

​Error responses

​UI Behavior

​Button states

​Automatic clipboard copy

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Creating a Basic Short Link

Creating Links with an Account

Custom Slugs

Slug validation rules

Setting Expiration Dates

Combining Custom Slugs and Expiration

Link Creation API

Request format

Response format

Error responses

UI Behavior

Button states

Automatic clipboard copy

Best Practices

Next Steps