Managing Links

Once you’ve created short links with your shrtnr account, you can manage them all from your dashboard. This guide covers viewing, editing, tracking clicks, and deleting links.

Link management features require authentication. You must be signed in to access the dashboard at /dashboard.

Accessing Your Dashboard

Make sure you’re authenticated. If not, visit /login to sign in.

Navigate to the dashboard

Click Dashboard in the navigation bar, or visit /dashboard directly.You can also click the Create short link button from the dashboard to quickly return to the home page.

View your links

The dashboard loads all short links associated with your account via a GET request to /api/links.Links are displayed in a table (desktop) or cards (mobile) with the following information:

Short link code
Destination URL
Expiration date (if set)
Click count
Action buttons (Edit, Delete)

Dashboard Layout

Desktop view (Table)

On larger screens, your links appear in a table with columns:

Column	Description
Short link	The short code (e.g., `/abc12345`) with a copy button
Destination	Truncated original URL (hover to see full URL)
Expires	Expiration date in `MMM d, yyyy` format, or `—` if none
Clicks	Total click count in tabular numbers
Actions	Edit and Delete buttons

Copy button behavior

Hover over any link row to reveal a copy button next to the short code. Click it to copy the full short URL to your clipboard.

Mobile view (Cards)

On smaller screens, each link is displayed as a card containing:

Full short URL at the top with copy button
Destination URL (truncated, tap to see tooltip)
Metadata row: expiration date and click count
Full-width Edit and Delete buttons

Viewing Link Statistics

Each link shows a click count that tracks how many times the short link has been accessed.

Click tracking

Increments every time someone visits your short link
Updates in real-time (refresh the dashboard to see latest counts)
Displayed in tabular numbers for easy reading
No reset option - counts are cumulative from link creation

Click tracking is automatic and requires no configuration. Every redirect through your short link increments the counter by 1.

Performance insights

Use click counts to:

Identify your most popular links
Measure campaign effectiveness
Compare performance across different slugs
Determine when links are no longer used

Editing Links

You can modify custom slugs and expiration dates for existing links.

Open the edit dialog

Click the Edit button next to any link. This opens a modal dialog titled “Edit short link”.

Modify the custom slug

The Custom slug field shows the current short code. You can:

Change it to a different slug (subject to validation rules)
Keep it the same

Validation rules:

1-20 characters
Only letters, numbers, hyphens (-), and underscores (_)
Must be unique across the platform

Update the expiration date

Click the Expires button to open a calendar popover.

Select a new date: Pick any date within the next 30 days
Remove expiration: The calendar allows you to clear the date

Disabled dates:

Dates in the past
Dates more than 30 days in the future

Save changes

Click Save to submit your changes. The system sends a PATCH request to /api/links/{id} with:

{
  "shortCode": "new-slug",
  "expiresAt": "2024-12-31T23:59:59.000Z" // or null
}

On success:

The dialog closes
The link list refreshes to show updated values

Edit errors

Common errors when editing:

Slug already in use

The new slug you chose is already taken by another link. Try a different variation:

Add numbers: my-link-2
Add year: my-link-2024
Use underscores: my_link

Invalid slug

Your slug violates validation rules. Ensure:

It’s 1-20 characters long
It contains only letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores
It has no spaces or special characters

Failed to update

A generic error occurred. This might be due to:

Network issues
Server problems
Database connectivity

Try again in a moment. If the problem persists, contact support.

Changing a link’s slug immediately breaks the old short URL. Anyone with the old link will get a 404 error. Use this feature carefully if the link has been widely shared.

Deleting Links

Remove links you no longer need from your dashboard.

Click the Delete button

Find the link you want to remove and click the red Delete button.

Confirm deletion

A browser confirmation dialog appears: “Delete this short link?”

Click OK to proceed
Click Cancel to abort

Link removed

If confirmed, the system sends a DELETE request to /api/links/{id}.On success:

The link is permanently deleted from the database
The dashboard refreshes to remove it from the list
The short URL becomes available for others to claim

Deletion is permanent and irreversible. Once deleted:

The short link immediately stops working (404 errors)
Click statistics are lost forever
The slug becomes available for anyone to use
You cannot undo this action

Consider editing the expiration date instead if you want to disable a link temporarily.

When to delete links

Delete links that:

Are no longer needed for active campaigns
Point to outdated or removed content
Were created for testing purposes
Have expired and won’t be reused

Empty Dashboard State

If you haven’t created any links yet, the dashboard shows an empty state:

Icon: Clipboard symbol
Heading: “No links yet”
Description: “Create your first short link from the home page, then manage it here.”
Button: Create short link → redirects to /

Anonymous links (created before signing in) won’t appear in your dashboard. Only links created while authenticated are associated with your account.

Dashboard API Endpoints

The dashboard interacts with these API endpoints:

GET /api/links

Fetches all links for the authenticated user. Response:

[
  {
    "id": 123,
    "short_code": "abc12345",
    "original_url": "https://example.com/long/path",
    "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
    "expires_at": "2024-01-22T10:30:00.000Z",
    "custom_slug": true,
    "clicks": 42,
    "user_id": "user_abc123"
  }
]

PATCH /api/links/:id

Updates a link’s slug or expiration date. Request:

{
  "shortCode": "new-slug",        // optional
  "expiresAt": "2024-12-31T..."   // optional, null to remove
}

Response:

{
  "ok": true
}

DELETE /api/links/:id

Permanently deletes a link. Response:

{
  "ok": true
}

Loading States

The dashboard handles loading gracefully:

Initial load

While fetching links from the API:

Shows 4 skeleton placeholders (shimmer effect)
Height matches actual link rows
Prevents layout shift when data loads

Saving edits

While updating a link:

Save button disabled
Button text changes to “Saving…”
Prevents duplicate submissions

Error states

If the API request fails:

Red error banner appears above the link list
Error message displayed (e.g., “Failed to load links”)
Links remain in their previous state

Mobile Responsiveness

The dashboard adapts to screen size:

≥768px (md breakpoint): Table layout with all columns visible
<768px: Card layout with stacked information

Both layouts provide full functionality:

View all link details
Copy short URLs
Edit links (same dialog on all devices)
Delete links

The dashboard is fully keyboard accessible:

Tab: Navigate between links and buttons
Enter/Space: Activate buttons
Esc: Close the edit dialog
Arrow keys: Navigate the calendar when selecting expiration dates

Best Practices

Regular cleanup

Periodically review your dashboard and delete:

Expired links you won’t renew
Test links from development
Campaigns that have ended

This keeps your dashboard organized and frees up custom slugs.

Monitor click performance

Check your dashboard regularly to:

Identify underperforming links
Find your most successful slugs
Adjust expiration dates for popular links
Remove dead links with zero clicks

Use descriptive slugs

When editing, choose slugs that:

Reflect the destination content
Are easy to remember and type
Include relevant keywords
Follow a consistent naming convention

Example: blog-seo-guide is better than link123.

Next Steps

Create more links: Return to the home page to shorten new URLs
Learn about authentication: Read the Authentication guide
Optimize link creation: Check the Creating Links guide

Get Started

Core Features

User Guide

Deployment

Managing Links

Accessing Your Dashboard

Dashboard Layout

Desktop view (Table)

Copy button behavior

Mobile view (Cards)

Viewing Link Statistics

Click tracking

Performance insights

Editing Links

Edit errors

Deleting Links

When to delete links

Empty Dashboard State

Dashboard API Endpoints

GET /api/links

PATCH /api/links/:id

DELETE /api/links/:id

Loading States

Initial load

Saving edits

Error states

Mobile Responsiveness

Keyboard Navigation

Best Practices

Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Features

User Guide

Deployment

​Accessing Your Dashboard

​Dashboard Layout

​Desktop view (Table)

​Copy button behavior

​Mobile view (Cards)

​Viewing Link Statistics

​Click tracking

​Performance insights

​Editing Links

​Edit errors

​Deleting Links

​When to delete links

​Empty Dashboard State

​Dashboard API Endpoints

​GET /api/links

​PATCH /api/links/:id

​DELETE /api/links/:id

​Loading States

​Initial load

​Saving edits

​Error states

​Mobile Responsiveness

​Keyboard Navigation

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Accessing Your Dashboard

Dashboard Layout

Desktop view (Table)

Copy button behavior

Mobile view (Cards)

Viewing Link Statistics

Click tracking

Performance insights

Editing Links

Edit errors

Deleting Links

When to delete links

Empty Dashboard State

Dashboard API Endpoints

GET /api/links

PATCH /api/links/:id

DELETE /api/links/:id

Loading States

Initial load

Saving edits

Error states

Mobile Responsiveness

Keyboard Navigation

Best Practices

Next Steps