URL Shortener Service

Overview

This Rust-based URL shortener service offers a simple yet effective way to convert long URLs into shorter links. Shortened links are generated through a unique combination of an adjective, noun, and number, providing easy-to-remember URLs.

This project is a port of an existing project I made using pure functional Scala. The frontend of the project can be found in this repository and is deployed on chidinweke.be/squish.

The version using Rust is the one currently deployed as it only consumes 8 megabytes of memory while idle compared to the 160 megabytes that the Scala version consumes.

Key Features

• Shorten URLs: Converts long URLs into shorter versions using a memorable pattern.
• Retrieve Original URLs: Allows users to access the original URL by visiting the shortened link.

How It Works

The service generates short links by combining an adjective, a noun, and a number, creating identifiable, but sometimes goofy URLs. The application interfaces with a database to store and retrieve original URLs based on their shortened counterparts.

Architecture

The application's architecture is modular, separating concerns into configuration loading, database operations, and HTTP service handling. This structure simplifies maintenance and enhances the clarity of the codebase.

• main.rs: Bootstraps the application and sets up the HTTP server.
• config.rs: Loads configuration settings from the environment.
• shorten.rs: Contains the logic for URL shortening and database interaction.
• cleanup.rs: Runs a background task that cleans links after 7 days.

Getting Started

The project only contains unit tests. To run the application you must spin up a docker container using

docker compose -f docker-compose-dev.yml up -d

Running the application or its tests is straightforward:

• To run the service: cargo run

The environment variables in the docker compose dev file correspond with the defaults inside the application.

If you want to deploy this application yourself you can modify the CI/CD template found in .github/workflows/main.yml as well as compose.yml to ensure the application and database are on the same network.

Testing

To execute tests: cargo test. This project only contains a few unit tests, so a database/test containers aren't necessary to run them.