MiniLink

A minimal URL shortener written in Go that uses YAML files as a database.

Features

• Fast HTTP redirects using Fiber web framework
• Simple YAML-based URL mapping
• CLI interface with Cobra
• Docker support
• Minimal dependencies

Installation

git clone <repository-url>
cd minilink
go mod download
go build -o minilink

Usage

Configuration

Edit the links.yaml file to add your URL routing rules:

routes:
  gh:
    default: "https://github.com"
    rules:
      - query: "x=y"
        url: "https://github.com/Meraj"
        passthrough: false
  gf:
    default: "https://github.com"
    rules:
      - query: "x=y"
        url: "https://github.com/Meraj"
        passthrough: true
  yt:
    default: "https://youtube.com"
    rules:
      - query: "v=x"
        url: "https://google.com"
        passthrough: false
      - query: "y=2"
        url: "https://meraj.com"
        passthrough: false

Running the Server

Start the server with default settings:

./minilink serve

Or specify custom port and config file:

./minilink serve --port 3000 --config my-links.yaml

CLI Options

• --port, -p: Port to run the server on (default: 8080)
• --config, -c: Path to the YAML config file (default: links.yaml)

API Endpoints

• GET /: Health check endpoint
• GET /:shortcode: Redirects to the configured URL

Examples

Once the server is running on port 8080:

Basic redirects:

• Visit http://localhost:8080/gh → redirects to https://github.com
• Visit http://localhost:8080/google → redirects to https://google.com

Query-based routing:

• Visit http://localhost:8080/gh?x=y → redirects to https://github.com/Meraj
• Visit http://localhost:8080/gf?x=y → redirects to https://github.com/Meraj?x=y (with passthrough)
• Visit http://localhost:8080/yt?v=x → redirects to https://google.com
• Visit http://localhost:8080/yt?y=2 → redirects to https://meraj.com

Error handling:

• Visit http://localhost:8080/invalid → returns 404 error

Docker

Build Image

docker build -t minilink .

Run Container

docker run -p 8080:8080 -v $(pwd)/links.yaml:/app/links.yaml minilink

Development

Project Structure

minilink/
├── main.go              # Entry point
├── cmd/
│   └── serve.go         # Serve command
├── internal/
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── config.go    # YAML config loader
│   └── server/
│       └── server.go    # HTTP server
├── links.yaml           # URL database
├── go.mod              # Go module
├── README.md           # This file
└── Dockerfile          # Container config

Adding New Routes

Edit the links.yaml file to add new routing rules:

routes:
  mysite:
    default: "https://mywebsite.com"
    rules:
      - query: "page=about"
        url: "https://mywebsite.com/about"
        passthrough: false
  blog:
    default: "https://myblog.com"
    rules:
      - query: "tag=tech"
        url: "https://myblog.com/tech"
        passthrough: true

Route Configuration:

• default: The URL to redirect to when no query rules match
• rules: Array of query-based routing rules
• query: Query parameter pattern to match (e.g., "x=y")
• url: Target URL for this rule
• passthrough: If true, append original query parameters to the target URL

License

MIT License