How to Shorten a URL — Step by Step

Follow these three steps to shorten any URL for free using LinkShrink.

Paste Your Long URL

Copy the long URL you want to shorten — it can be any website address, a blog post, a product page, a Google Drive link, or anything else. Head to the LinkShrink playground on the homepage, or use the shortener below. Paste your URL into the input field. No signup or account creation is required at any point.

Click “Shorten”

Hit the Shorten button. LinkShrink sends your URL to its API endpoint (POST /api/v1/shorten), validates it, and generates a unique 7-character short code. The whole process takes under a second. Developers can also call the API directly from any language — see the code examples below.

Copy Your Short Link

Your shortened URL is instantly ready at linkshrink.dev/xxxxxxx. Click Copy and share it anywhere — social media posts, email campaigns, SMS messages, printed materials, or QR codes. The link stays active for 90 days by default. You can also extend the lifetime or delete the link at any time using the deleteToken returned in the response.

Try It Now — Shorten Any URL

Paste a URL below and get your short link instantly. No signup required.

Your Short Link

QR Code

Download QR Code PNG

Delete Token

Where to Use Shortened URLs

Short links improve every channel where you share content. Here are the most common use cases.

📱

Social Media

Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram all have character limits or penalise long links. A clean short URL saves space, looks professional, and gets more clicks than a raw parameter-stuffed link.

📧

Email Marketing

Long URLs can trigger spam filters and break across line wraps in plain-text emails. Short links keep your messages clean and make click tracking effortless when combined with UTM parameters.

💬

SMS Campaigns

Every character costs money in SMS. A short URL can reduce a 160-character message to under 30 characters, cutting your SMS costs and keeping the message readable on any device.

🖨

Print & QR Codes

Printed flyers, business cards, and banners cannot contain clickable links. A short URL is easy to type manually, and you can generate a matching QR code from the API response in one step.

Shorten a URL via API

Developers can shorten URLs programmatically with a single HTTP call. No authentication needed.

terminal

curl -X POST https://linkshrink.dev/api/v1/shorten \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://example.com/very/long/path"}'

# Response:
# {
#   "status": "success",
#   "data": {
#     "shortUrl": "https://linkshrink.dev/abc1234",
#     "deleteToken": "tok_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
#     "analytics": { "qrCode": "https://linkshrink.dev/api/v1/qr/abc1234.png" }
#   }
# }

javascript

const res = await fetch('https://linkshrink.dev/api/v1/shorten', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({ url: 'https://example.com/very/long/path' })
});
const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data.shortUrl);
// "https://linkshrink.dev/abc1234"

python

import requests
r = requests.post('https://linkshrink.dev/api/v1/shorten',
                   json={'url': 'https://example.com/very/long/path'})
print(r.json()['data']['shortUrl'])
# "https://linkshrink.dev/abc1234"

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about shortening URLs with LinkShrink.

How long do shortened links last?

By default, all shortened links are active for 90 days. You can configure a custom TTL (time-to-live) in seconds by passing the ttl field in your API request. There is no maximum limit — set it to any duration you need.

Can I customise my short URL?

Yes. Pass a customAlias parameter in your request body to choose your own short code. For example, {"url": "...", "customAlias": "my-campaign"} will create linkshrink.dev/my-campaign. Custom aliases must be unique.

Is it really free?

Yes, completely. LinkShrink requires no API key, no account, no credit card, and no subscription. There are no rate limits advertised — the service is free forever as part of the SoftVoyagers open developer toolkit.

Do you track my visitors?

No personal data about your link visitors is collected or stored. LinkShrink only records an anonymous click counter so you can see how many times your link was used. No IP addresses, no fingerprinting, no advertising profiles.

Can I delete a shortened link?

Yes. Every link creation response includes a deleteToken. Send a DELETE /api/v1/shorten/{code}?token={deleteToken} request at any time to permanently remove your link. Store the token securely — it cannot be recovered once lost.

How to Shorten a URL
in 3 Easy Steps (Free, No Sign Up)