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Overview

The admin dashboard provides a complete web interface for managing your Dubly instance. Access it at /admin on your Dubly domain to create links, view analytics, and manage settings without using the API.

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Accessing the Dashboard

Navigate to the /admin path on any of your configured domains: 
https://short.io/admin

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Authentication

The dashboard uses session-based authentication. Log in with the same password configured in the DUBLY_PASSWORD environment variable.
The admin password is the same as your API password. There is no separate admin credential.

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Dashboard Features

The main dashboard displays all your shortened links with:
  • Link cards showing slug, destination, title, and tags
  • Click counts for each link
  • Search functionality to filter links by slug, destination, title, or tags
  • Pagination (12 links per page)
Click New Link to access the link creation form with the following fields:
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destination
string
required
The long URL to redirect to
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domain
string
required
Select from your configured domains
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slug
string
Custom slug (auto-generated if empty)
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title
string
Descriptive title for the link
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tags
string
Comma-separated tags for organization
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notes
string
Private notes about this link

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UTM Parameters

The admin UI includes built-in support for adding UTM tracking parameters to your links. When creating or editing a link, you can specify:
  • utm_source - Identify the source (e.g., newsletter, twitter)
  • utm_medium - Identify the medium (e.g., email, social)
  • utm_campaign - Campaign name
  • utm_term - Paid search keywords
  • utm_content - Differentiate similar content
UTM parameters are automatically appended to your destination URL. If the URL already contains UTM parameters, they will be replaced with your new values.
How it works:
  1. Enter your destination URL: https://example.com/page
  2. Fill in UTM fields in the admin form
  3. Dubly saves: https://example.com/page?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spring_sale
From the source code (internal/web/links.go:246-257): 
utmValues := map[string]string{
    "utm_source":   values["utm_source"],
    "utm_medium":   values["utm_medium"],
    "utm_campaign": values["utm_campaign"],
    "utm_term":     values["utm_term"],
    "utm_content":  values["utm_content"],
}

link := &models.Link{
    Slug:        slugVal,
    Domain:      domain,
    Destination: buildDestinationWithUTM(values["destination"], utmValues),
    // ...
}
Click on any link card to edit:
  • Change destination URL
  • Update slug or domain
  • Modify metadata (title, tags, notes)
  • Update UTM parameters
  • View current click count
Changing the slug or domain invalidates the cache for the old URL and may break existing links if they’re already in use.
Delete links with the trash icon. Deleted links:
  • Are soft-deleted (marked as is_active = 0)
  • Return 410 Gone status on redirect attempts
  • Cannot be reactivated through the UI
  • Still appear in the database for historical tracking

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Analytics Dashboard

The dashboard home displays global statistics:

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Overall Metrics

  • Total links - Count of all active links
  • Clicks today - Total clicks in the last 24 hours
  • Clicks all-time - Cumulative click count

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Top Performers

Shows the top 5 traffic sources sending visitors to your links
Click Analytics on any link card to view detailed metrics:
  • Click timeline - Chart showing clicks over time
  • Geographic distribution - Country and city breakdown
  • Device insights - Browser, OS, and device type
  • Referrer analysis - Where clicks are coming from
  • Recent clicks - Individual click events with timestamps
These analytics are extracted from the database and displayed using charts powered by Chart.js.

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Domain Management

Access the domains page at /admin/domains to view:
  • All configured domains from DUBLY_DOMAINS
  • DNS status for each domain (resolves to your server IP or not)
  • Manual refresh button to re-check DNS records
Dubly automatically checks DNS resolution on startup and caches the results. Use the refresh button if you’ve recently updated DNS records.

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DNS Verification

The dashboard performs DNS lookups to verify each domain points to your server: 
// From internal/web/domains.go
func (d *dnsCache) checkDomain(domain string) bool {
    ips, err := net.LookupHost(domain)
    if err != nil {
        return false
    }
    // Check if any resolved IP matches server IPs
    // ...
}
This helps you identify configuration issues without leaving the admin panel.

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Session Management

Sessions are implemented using HTTP-only cookies:
  • Duration: Sessions persist until you explicitly log out
  • Security: Cookies are HTTP-only to prevent XSS attacks
  • Logout: Click Logout in the navigation to end your session
From the implementation (internal/web/session.go:18): 
func createSession(w http.ResponseWriter, password string) {
    token := sessionToken(password)
    cookie := &http.Cookie{
        Name:     sessionCookieName,
        Value:    token,
        Path:     "/admin",
        HttpOnly: true,
        SameSite: http.SameSiteStrictMode,
    }
    http.SetCookie(w, cookie)
}

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Flash Messages

The admin interface uses flash messages to provide feedback:
  • Success (green) - “Link created”, “Link updated”
  • Error (red) - Validation errors, database failures
  • Info (blue) - General notifications
Messages appear at the top of the page and are cleared after being displayed once.

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HTMX Integration

The dashboard uses HTMX for dynamic updates without full page reloads:
  • Search results update as you type
  • Pagination loads new pages inline
  • Delete actions remove cards without refresh
This is detected via the HX-Request header (internal/web/links.go:155): 
if r.Header.Get("HX-Request") == "true" {
    w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8")
    h.templates.RenderPartial(w, "templates/links_cards.html", "cards", data)
    return
}

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Keyboard Shortcuts

While not explicitly documented in the source, the admin interface supports standard browser shortcuts:
  • Ctrl+F / Cmd+F - Focus search box (browser default)
  • Enter - Submit forms
  • Esc - Close modals (if using any)

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Customization

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App Name

The dashboard title is customizable via the DUBLY_APP_NAME environment variable: 
DUBLY_APP_NAME="My Link Shortener"
This appears in:
  • Page titles
  • Navigation header
  • Login page
Default: "Dubly"

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Next Steps

Link Management

Learn about link creation via API

Analytics

Understand how analytics work

Configuration

Configure your Dubly instance

API Reference

Use the REST API

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