🔗 ShortLink - URL Shortener Service

A full-stack URL shortening service built with Java Spring Boot. This project demonstrates backend development skills including REST API design, database management, and cloud deployment.

🚀 Live Demo

API Base URL: https://shortlink-nmca.onrender.com

⚠️ Note: Hosted on Render's free tier - first request may take ~30 seconds (cold start).

📋 Features

• ✂️ Shorten long URLs to 6-character codes
• 🔄 Automatic redirect from short links to original URLs
• 📊 Click tracking and analytics
• ✅ URL validation
• 🗄️ PostgreSQL database for persistent storage

🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend:

• Java 21
• Spring Boot 3.4.x
• Spring Data JPA
• PostgreSQL
• Maven
• Lombok

Deployment:

• Docker
• Render (PostgreSQL + Web Service)

📡 API Endpoints

Shorten a URL

POST /api/shorten
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "url": "https://example.com"
}

Response:
{
  "id": 1,
  "originalUrl": "https://example.com",
  "shortCode": "aB3xY9",
  "shortUrl": "https://your-app.onrender.com/aB3xY9",
  "createdAt": "2025-11-27T10:30:00",
  "clickCount": 0
}

Redirect to Original URL

GET /{shortCode}
Redirects to the original URL and increments click count.

Get URL Statistics

GET /api/stats/{shortCode}

Returns analytics including click count and creation date.

🏃 Running Locally

Prerequisites

- Java 21
- Maven

📝 License

MIT License - feel free to use this project for learning!