No-DB-URL-Shortener

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No-DB-URL-Shortener

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A simple little URL shortener script that saves its data in flat files rather than a database.

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# The No Database URL Shortener

This is a simple little URL shortener for personal use which utilizes flat files rather than a database in which to store its data. It's easy to set up, easy to use, fast and secure.

## Demo

- [http://mub.io/](http://mub.io/) - Displays the REDIRECT -> 404.php
- [http://mub.io/mb](http://mub.io/mb) - Redirects to http://michaelbester.com
- [http://khl.io/nk](http://khl.io/nk) - Redirects to http://khilnani.org
- [http://khl.io/fb](http://khl.io/fb) - Redirects to https://facebook.com/KhilnaniArt
- [http://khl.io/tw](http://khl.io/tw) - Redirects to https://twitter.com/nikkhilnani

## Installation

To install the No DB URL Shortener, take the following steps:

- Upload this entire repository to the host on which you want this to live. It should work on the document root or in a subdirectory. Don't forget the `.htaccess` file. Alternatively, you can do clone this repository to the server where you want this to live.
- In the `inc` directory, rename `config.php.sample` to `config.php` and change the values in that file to something that works for you.
- Change permissions on `inc/config.php`, `inc/daily-count.txt` and `content/urls` to be writable by the server. Ususally, that involves a `chmod 777` on those files and directories in the terminal.
- Hit the URL you've uploaded this to in your browser. You should be prompted to set a password, so do so!

That's it! Once you've set your password, the URL Shortener is ready for you to use.

## Adding a Short URL

To generate a short URL and add it to the system, there is **/create** URL which you can make a REST call to.

> Example: `/create?pw=PASSWORD&link=URL&hash=KEY`

The call accepts the following parameters:

**pw** _required_  
This is the password you set up during the installation process. Any requests to the **/create** endpoint that don't include the password will result in an error.

**link** _required_  
This is the link that you'd like to shorten.

**id** _optional_  
If you'd like the hash to be generated from an ID (say, the ID of a post in your CMS), you can pass that id in here. If omitted, an id will be calculated utilizing the current date and the number of times you created a shortlink that day, and that will be used to generate the hash.

**hash** _optional_  
If you have a hash, or slug, that you want to utilize, you can pass it in here. This is handy if you want create vanity shortlinks, such as `http://mub.io/awesome`. In that case, you'd add `hash=awesome` to the create request. Note that if a hash is already in use in the system, what you pass in here will be ignored and it will generate a hash for you.

When you make a call to **/create**, you will get a JSON response. A successful response will look something like this:

```json
{
  "originalURL": "http://michaelbester.com",
  "shortURL": "http://mub.io/olL43",
  "baseURL": "mub.io",
  "hash": "olL43"
}
```

If an error is encountered, the JSON will return an appropriate error message, something like so:

```json
{
  "error": "Sorry, but your password was incorrect."
}
```

## Deleting a Short URL

To delete a short URL and remove it from the system, there is **/delete** URL which you can make a REST call to.

> Example: `/delete?pw=PASSWORD&hash=KEY`

The call accepts the following parameters:

**pw** _required_  
This is the password you set up during the installation process. Any requests to the **/delete** endpoint that don't include the password will result in an error.

**hash** _required_  
If you haven't passed the hash the script doesn't know what to delete.

When you make a call to **/delete**, you will get a JSON response. A successful response will look something like this:

```json
{
  "hashid": "olL43",
  "deleted": true
}
```

If an error is encountered, the JSON will return an appropriate error message, something like so:

```json
{
  "error": "Sorry, but your hash was not found."
}
```

### Example REST call function

Here's an example PHP function that makes the REST call to the URL shortener, passing in parameters from the `$_POST` array. It has the `pw` parameter baked in, but you'd still have to pass in at least `link` as a post parameter:

```php
public function build_short_url()
{
	$url_shortener_endpoint = 'http://mub.io/create;
	$url_shortener_password = 'abc123';

$post = array_merge($_POST, array('pw' => $url_shortener_password));

$options = array(
		CURLOPT_POST => 1,
		CURLOPT_HEADER => 0,
		CURLOPT_URL => $url_shortener_endpoint,
		CURLOPT_FRESH_CONNECT => 1,
		CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => 1,
		CURLOPT_FORBID_REUSE => 1,
		CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 4,
		CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => http_build_query($post)
	);

$ch = curl_init();
	curl_setopt_array($ch, $options);
	if ( ! $result = curl_exec($ch ) ) {
		$content = new stdClass();
		$content->error = "curl_error($ch)";
		$content = json_encode($content);
	}
	curl_close($ch);
	echo $result;
}
```

Note that I currently haven't provided any alternative methods to create new short URLs such as a form or a bookmarklet. The current implementation suits my immediate needs, but if you would like to set up some alternative avenues to create URLs, pull requests are more than welcome.

## Changing Your Password

If, at any time, you'd like to change your password, it's easy to do. Just take the following steps:

- SSH or FTP into your server, and open `inc/config.php` for editing.
- Delete the `HASHED_PASSWORD` definition and its comment. Save and close the file.
- Reload the index page of your instance of the URL shortener in your browser.
- Set a new password in the form there

That will write a new `HASHED_PASSWORD` definition to `inc/config.php`. Be sure to update your calls to the **/create** endpoint to use the new password!

## Version History

**0.2.2** - Added a delete endpoint. Current stable version.

**0.2.0** - Added a default redirect option.

**0.1.0** - Initial release.

## Contributors

- **Author:** Michael Bester ([@kimili](https://github.com/kimili), [website](http://michaelbester.com), [Twitter](http://twitter.com/mibester))
- **Contributor:** Nik Khilnani ([@khilnani](https://github.com/khilnani), [website](http://khl.io/nk), [Twitter](http://khl.io/tw))
- **Contributor:** Matthias Schaffer ([@fellwell5](https://github.com/fellwell5), [website](http://matthiasschaffer.com))

## License

MIT License. See the `LICENSE` file. You can use `URLShortener` in personal projects, open source projects and commercial products.

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