Flask URL Shortener - Full Featured Edition

A complete, professional-grade URL shortener web application built with Python and Flask. This application provides comprehensive URL management with advanced analytics, custom aliases, expiration controls, and a full administrative dashboard.

Core Features

URL Shortening & Management

• Smart URL Shortening: Convert long URLs into short, memorable 6-character alphanumeric codes
• Custom Aliases: Create personalized short URLs with custom keywords (3-50 characters)
• URL Validation: Advanced URL validation with malicious pattern detection
• Automatic Deduplication: Returns existing short URL if the long URL has already been shortened
• Expiration Control: Set expiration dates for URLs (1 day to 1 year or never expires)
• URL Descriptions: Add descriptions to help organize and remember your links
• Bulk Management: Search, filter, activate/deactivate, and delete URLs in bulk

Analytics & Insights

• Comprehensive Analytics Dashboard: Overview of all URL statistics and performance
• Individual URL Analytics: Detailed statistics for each shortened URL
• Click Tracking: Real-time tracking of all clicks with visitor information
• Interactive Charts: Visual representation of click patterns over time
• Visitor Details: IP addresses, user agents, and referrer information
• Performance Metrics: Average clicks per URL, most popular links, recent activity

Advanced Features

• URL Status Management: Activate/deactivate URLs without deletion
• Search & Filter: Advanced search across URLs, descriptions, and codes
• Pagination: Efficient handling of large URL collections
• RESTful API: JSON API endpoints for programmatic access
• Error Handling: Custom 404/500 pages with user-friendly messages
• Responsive Design: Bootstrap-powered dark theme optimized for all devices

Security & Reliability

• URL Validation: Prevents malicious URLs (javascript:, data:, file: schemes)
• Database Integrity: PostgreSQL support with proper foreign key constraints
• Session Management: Secure session handling with environment-based secrets
• Error Recovery: Comprehensive error handling with automatic rollback

Application Structure

flask_url_shortener/
├── app.py                 # Main Flask application with routes and logic
├── models.py              # Database models (Urls, UrlClick)
├── main.py                # Application entry point
├── templates/             # Jinja2 templates
│   ├── base.html         # Base template with Bootstrap styling
│   ├── index.html        # Homepage with URL shortening form
│   ├── analytics.html    # Analytics dashboard
│   ├── manage.html       # URL management interface
│   ├── url_analytics.html # Individual URL analytics
│   ├── 404.html          # Custom 404 error page
│   └── 500.html          # Custom 500 error page
├── README.md             # Project documentation
└── pyproject.toml        # Python dependencies

API Documentation

POST /api/shorten

Create a new short URL.

Request Body:

{
  "url": "https://example.com/very-long-url",
  "alias": "my-custom-link",  // Optional custom alias
  "description": "My important link",  // Optional description
  "expires_in": 30  // Optional expiration in days
}

Response:

{
  "short_url": "https://yoursite.com/abc123",
  "long_url": "https://example.com/very-long-url",
  "created_at": "2024-01-01T12:00:00Z",
  "expires_at": "2024-01-31T12:00:00Z",
  "existing": false
}

GET /api/stats/{identifier}

Get statistics for a short URL.

Response:

{
  "short_code": "abc123",
  "custom_alias": "my-custom-link",
  "long_url": "https://example.com/very-long-url",
  "description": "My important link",
  "click_count": 42,
  "created_at": "2024-01-01T12:00:00Z",
  "is_active": true,
  "expires_at": "2024-01-31T12:00:00Z",
  "is_expired": false
}

Navigation

• Homepage (/): Create new short URLs with advanced options
• Analytics (/analytics): View comprehensive dashboard with charts and statistics
• Manage URLs (/manage): Search, filter, and manage all your URLs
• Individual Analytics (/url/{id}/analytics): Detailed analytics for specific URLs
• API Endpoints: RESTful API for programmatic access

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11 or higher
• PostgreSQL database (auto-configured in Replit)
• Modern web browser with JavaScript enabled

Setup Instructions

1. Environment Setup

The application automatically configures itself in the Replit environment with:

• PostgreSQL database connection
• Session secrets
• Proper networking configuration