🚀 AWS Serverless URL Shortener (Proof of Concept)

This project is a serverless URL shortener built entirely on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
It demonstrates how to combine AWS managed services to create a low-cost, scalable, and secure application — perfect for a Proof of Concept (PoC) and portfolio showcase.

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✨ Features

• Shorten long URLs into unique short links.
• Redirect short links to original URLs.
• Track usage statistics (click count, creation date).
• Web-based dashboard hosted on Amazon S3.
• Serverless, fully managed, and near-zero cost under AWS Free Tier.

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🏗️ Architecture

AWS Services Used:

• Amazon S3 → Hosts the static frontend dashboard.
• Amazon API Gateway → Provides REST API endpoints.
• AWS Lambda → Handles backend logic (shorten, redirect, stats).
• Amazon DynamoDB → Stores URL mappings and statistics.
• Amazon CloudFront (optional) → CDN & HTTPS.
• Amazon Cognito (optional) → User authentication for dashboard.

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📂 Project Structure

aws-serverless-url-shortener/ │ ├── frontend/ # Static website (S3-hosted) │ ├── index.html │ └── app.js │ ├── backend/ # Lambda functions │ ├── shortenUrl.py │ ├── redirectUrl.py │ └── getStats.py │ ├── docs/ # Documentation │ ├── aws_serverless_url_shortener_poc.pdf │ ├── architecture-diagram.png │ └── README.md

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⚙️ Setup Instructions

1. DynamoDB

• Create a table named UrlMappings
• Partition key: shortId (String)

2. Lambda Functions

Deploy three Lambda functions:

• shortenUrl → Creates a short ID and stores mapping.
• redirectUrl → Redirects to original URL and increments counter.
• getStats → Fetches click stats from DynamoDB.

3. API Gateway

• POST /shorten → Trigger shortenUrl
• GET /{shortId} → Trigger redirectUrl
• GET /stats/{shortId} → Trigger getStats
• Enable CORS.
• Deploy API.

4. Frontend (S3 Hosting)

• Upload files from /frontend to an S3 bucket.
• Enable static website hosting.
• Set bucket policy to allow public access (or use CloudFront for secure HTTPS).

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📊 Example Usage

Shorten URL

POST /shorten
{
  "longUrl": "https://www.google.com"
}

Response:
{
  "shortId": "abc123",
  "shortUrl": "https://<api-id>.execute-api.<region>.amazonaws.com/dev/abc123"
}

Redirect:
Visiting https://.../abc123 → Redirects to https://www.google.com

Stats:
GET /stats/abc123

Response:
{
  "shortId": "abc123",
  "longUrl": "https://www.google.com",
  "clickCount": 5,
  "createdAt": "2025-09-02T12:00:00Z"
}
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# aws-serverless-url-shortener
Serverless URL Shortener PoC using AWS (S3, API Gateway, Lambda, DynamoDB)