🔗 Linkify — URL Shortener

Linkify is a full-stack URL shortening app built with Node.js, Express, MongoDB, and EJS. It converts long URLs into short, shareable links with authentication and basic click analytics.

🌐 Live Demo

• 👉 Live App: https://linkify-8r5h.onrender.com

✨ Key Features

• 🔐 JWT-based authentication (login/signup)
• 🎯 Short URL generation (NanoID/ShortID)
• 🔁 Fast redirects (/:shortId)
• 📊 Basic click analytics (stores visit timestamps)
• 🧭 Simple EJS UI (home, login, signup)
• 🔒 Protected routes for authenticated users

🧰 Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js, Express
• Database: MongoDB, Mongoose
• Views: EJS
• Auth: JWT (stored in cookies)
• Utilities: cookie-parser, nanoid/shortid

📁 Project Structure

2_1Short_Url/
├── controllers/
├── middlewares/
├── models/
├── routes/
├── service/
├── views/
├── connect.js
├── index.js
├── .env
├── package.json
└── package-lock.json

📸 Preview

🏠 Main Page

🔐 Signup Page

⚙️ Login Page

🚀 Getting Started (Local)

1. Go to the project folder:

cd 2_1Short_Url

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Create .env (don’t commit it):

You can copy from .env.example and update the values.

MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/shorturl
JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_key
PORT=8001

4. Start MongoDB locally (if using local MongoDB):

net start MongoDB

5. Run the app:

npm run dev

Open: http://localhost:8001

🔑 Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
MONGO_URI	✅	MongoDB connection string (local or Atlas)
JWT_SECRET	✅	Secret used to sign JWT tokens
PORT	❌	Local port (Render provides PORT automatically)

📌 API Routes (Quick Reference)

• POST /user — Signup
• POST /user/login — Login
• POST /url — Create short URL (protected)
• GET /:shortId — Redirect + store visit timestamp
• GET / — Homepage
• GET /signup — Signup page
• GET /login — Login page

🚢 Deploying on Render

1. Create a MongoDB Atlas cluster and copy the mongodb+srv://... connection string.

2. On Render → New Web Service:

• Root Directory: 2_1Short_Url
• Build Command: npm install
• Start Command: npm start

3. Add environment variables on Render:

• MONGO_URI = your Atlas connection string
• JWT_SECRET = a strong secret
• NODE_ENV = production (recommended)

Note: don’t set PORT on Render — Render sets it automatically.

👨‍💻 Author

Built by Avinash.