Redirect visitors to a configurable fallback URL whenever they hit a non-existent short URL or the YOURLS root page.
Valid short URLs continue to work normally — no interference with your existing links.
- Automatic fallback redirect for unknown short URL keywords and the YOURLS root page
- Choice of redirect type: 301 Permanent or 302 Temporary
- Stats pages respected: URLs ending with
+are passed through only when the keyword actually exists; unknownkeyword+requests are redirected to the fallback like any other unknown keyword - AlternativeIndex compatible: when YOURLS AlternativeIndex is active, root page interception is automatically disabled — both plugins coexist without conflicts, and the admin page shows a compatibility notice
- Instant disable: leave the fallback URL empty to restore default YOURLS behavior
- Update notifications: checks GitHub for new releases and shows a badge in the admin panel
- Modular structure: split into
inc/modules and staticassets/, no composer, no npm, no build step
- Download the plugin from the latest release.
- Unzip the contents into the
user/plugins/url-fallback/directory. - Activate the plugin in the YOURLS admin panel under Plugins.
- Go to Plugins → URL Fallback and enter the destination URL.
Requires YOURLS 1.9+ and PHP 7.4+
- Open the URL Fallback settings page from the Plugins menu.
- Enter the Fallback URL — the destination visitors are sent to when no matching short URL is found.
- Choose the Redirect Type:
- 302 Temporary — use this while testing or when the destination may change.
- 301 Permanent — use this once the destination is stable. Browsers cache 301 redirects, so switching later requires visitors to clear their cache.
- Click Save Settings.
| Visitor request | Result |
|---|---|
Valid short URL (e.g. /abc) |
YOURLS handles it normally |
Unknown keyword (e.g. /xyz) |
Redirected to fallback URL |
YOURLS root page (/) |
Redirected to fallback URL |
YOURLS root page (/) with AlternativeIndex active |
AlternativeIndex handles it |
Stats page of existing keyword (e.g. /abc+) |
YOURLS handles it normally |
Stats page of unknown keyword (e.g. /xyz+) |
Redirected to fallback URL |
| No fallback URL configured | Default YOURLS behavior (404 page) |
Clear the Fallback URL field and save. The plugin stays active but does not intercept any requests.
| Option key | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
url_fallback_url |
string | Full URL including scheme; empty string = disabled |
url_fallback_redirect_type |
int | 301 or 302; defaults to 302 if not set |
This plugin is ready for internationalization via .po/.mo files inside the languages/ folder.
Available languages:
- 🇬🇧 English (default)
Contributions for additional languages are welcome.
This plugin is licensed under the MIT License.
Lovingly developed by the usually-on-vacation brain cell of Gioxx, with assistance from Claude AI.
Pull requests and feature suggestions are welcome!
If you find bugs or have feature requests, open an issue.
If you find it useful, leave a ⭐ on GitHub! ❤️
