Shorty API 🚀

A simple URL shortening API built with Node.js, Express, and PostgreSQL.

• Create short URLs with a unique code.
• Track click analytics.
• Secure endpoints with API keys.
• Deployable on Railway or any Node.js hosting.

---

Features

• Shorten long URLs (POST /shorten)
• Redirect to original URL (GET /:code)
• Analytics for each short URL (GET /analytics/:code)
• PostgreSQL persistence
• API key protection
• Easy deployment with Railway

---

Tech Stack

• Node.js + Express
• PostgreSQL (hosted via Railway or local)
• nanoid (for short codes)
• dotenv, helmet, morgan, cors

---

Getting Started

1. Clone repository

git clone https://github.com/YourUsername/Shorty-API.git
cd Shorty-API

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Setup Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root:

# Server
PORT=3000
BASE_URL=https://shorty.up.railway.app   # or your custom domain

# Security
API_KEY=your-secret-api-key

# Database (PostgreSQL)
DATABASE_URL=postgres://username:password@hostname:5432/dbname

Important: Do not commit .env to GitHub. Add it to .gitignore.

4. Run locally (development)

npm run dev