URL Shortener

Description

This is a simple URL shortener application built using Node.js, Express, MongoDB, and EJS for the frontend. It allows users to generate shortened URLs, track URL analytics, and manage shortened links efficiently.

Features

• Generate shortened URLs for long URLs.
• Option to provide a custom alias.
• Store shortened URLs in MongoDB.
• Track analytics such as total clicks and visit history.
• Implement rate limiting to prevent abuse.
• Error handling and logging for better debugging.

Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js, Express.js
• Database: MongoDB with Mongoose ORM
• Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, EJS
• Middleware: Express-rate-limit, Winston for logging

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/url-shortener.git
   cd url-shortener

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables: Create a .env file in the root directory and configure the following:

   PORT=8001
   MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/urlShortener

4. Start the server:

   npm start

API Endpoints

1. Generate a Short URL

Endpoint: POST /url

Request Body:

{
  "longUrl": "https://example.com",
  "customAlias": "myCustomAlias" // (Optional)
}

Response:

{
  "shortUrl": "http://localhost:8001/urls/myCustomAlias"
}

2. Get URL Analytics

Endpoint: GET /url/analytics/:shortId

Response:

{
  "totalClicks": 10,
  "analytics": [
    {
      "timeStamp": "2024-03-23T12:00:00Z",
      "ip": "192.168.1.1",
      "userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0"
    }
  ]
}

Project Structure

url-shortener/
│-- controllers/
│   ├── url.js       # Handles URL generation & analytics
│-- middlewares/
│   ├── errorHandler.js  # Handles errors
│   ├── logger.js        # Logs errors and info
│   ├── rateLimiter.js   # Limits API requests
│-- models/
│   ├── url.js       # Mongoose schema for URLs
│-- public/
│   ├── scripts.js   # Frontend interactions
│   ├── styles.css   # Styling
│-- routes/
│   ├── staticRouter.js  # Serves home page
│   ├── url.js          # URL-related routes
│-- views/
│   ├── home.ejs     # Main frontend view
│-- .env             # Environment variables
│-- index.js         # Main server file
│-- connect.js       # Connect mongoose schema  
│-- package.json     # Project dependencies
│-- README.md        # Project documentation

Middleware Implementations

• Rate Limiting: Limits users to 10 requests per minute.
• Error Handling: Centralized error handler for better debugging.
• Logging: Logs errors and important info using Winston.

Future Enhancements

• Add authentication for URL management.
• Implement a user dashboard to view and manage URLs.
• Custom expiration for shortened URLs.
• Deploy to a cloud provider (Heroku, Vercel, or AWS).

License

This project is open-source and available under the MIT License.

Author

Atul Kumar Kanojia