SnapLink - A URL Shortener

SnapLink is a modern, scalable URL shortener built with Django (Python) and React (Frontend). It allows users to shorten URLs, track visits, and manage links via a REST API & Web Interface.

✨ Features

🔗 Core URL Shortening

• Convert long URLs into short, shareable links
• Support for custom vanity URLs (Planned)

📊 Analytics & Tracking

• Click Tracking – Monitor total clicks per short URL
• Daily Unique Visitors – Track users based on IP
• Geolocation & Device Data (Future Feature)

⏳ Expiration & One-Time Use

• Set Expiration – Define a custom expiry date for short links
• One-Time Use Links – Auto-delete after first visit

🔒 User Authentication & Authorization

• JWT-Based Authentication with access_token & refresh_token
• User Registration & Login
• Personalized Dashboard – Users can manage their URLs

⚡ Performance & Caching

• Django Cache (Redis) for fast URL redirection
• Database Indexing & Optimization for efficient queries

🚀 DevOps & Scalability

• ✅ PostgreSQL Database Integration
• ✅ Rate Limiting for API security (Django Rest Framework)
• 🔜 Dockerized Deployment (Planned)
• 🔜 CI/CD Pipelines with GitHub Actions (Planned)
• 🔜 Error Monitoring with Sentry (Planned)

📸 Screenshots

🛠 Tech Stack

Backend:

• Python (Django)
• Django REST Framework (DRF)
• PostgreSQL (Database)
• Redis (Caching)

Frontend:

• React (with Vite)
• Tailwind CSS (for styling)

📦 Installation & Setup

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/madhvi-n/snaplink.git
   cd snaplink

2. Set up a virtual environment

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On macOS/Linux
   venv\Scripts\activate  # On Windows

3. Install Dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Set up PostgreSQL database

   sudo -u postgres psql
   CREATE DATABASE snaplink;
   CREATE USER snaplink_user WITH PASSWORD 'yourpassword';
   ALTER ROLE snaplink_user SET client_encoding TO 'utf8';
   ALTER ROLE snaplink_user SET default_transaction_isolation TO 'read committed';
   ALTER ROLE snaplink_user SET timezone TO 'UTC';
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE snaplink TO snaplink_user;

5. Apply Database Migrations & Create Superuser

   python manage.py migrate
   python manage.py createsuperuser

6. Run the Development Server

   python manage.py runserver

   Access at: http://127.0.0.1:8000

Frontend

1. Navigate to the Frontend Folder

   cd frontend/snap_link

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Set Backend API URL Create a .env file in the frontend root and add:

   VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:8000/api/v1

4. Start the development server

   npm run dev

📝 API Documentation

The API documentation is available via Swagger:

• Swagger UI: http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/swagger/
• Redoc: http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/redoc/
• DRF Browsable API: http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/v1/

⚙️ Environment Variables (Example .env file)

SECRET_KEY=django-secret-key
DEBUG=True
BASE_URL=http://localhost:8000
REDIS_URL=your-redis-url
ALLOWED_HOSTS=localhost,127.0.0.1
DB_NAME=snaplink
DB_USER=postgres
DB_PASSWORD=123456

🚀 Deployment Guide (Coming Soon)

• Dockerization
• CI/CD Pipelines with GitHub Actions
• Production Database Setup

🛤 Roadmap & Future Features

Completed Features

• ✅ Core URL Shortening (short links)
• ✅ Click Tracking (monitor total clicks per URL)
• ✅ Expiration & One-Time Use Links
• ✅ JWT-Based Authentication (access_token & refresh_token)
• ✅ User Registration & Login
• ✅ PostgreSQL Database Integration
• ✅ Rate Limiting for API security

Upcoming Features

• ⬜ Custom Vanity URLs (personalized short links)
• ⬜ Geolocation & Device Tracking
• ⬜ User Dashboard for managing URLs
• ⬜ Dockerized Deployment
• ⬜ CI/CD Pipelines with GitHub Actions
• ⬜ Error Monitoring with Sentry

🎉 Happy Coding! 🚀