Anand Rathnas

Posted on Dec 20

I Built an API-First URL Shortener You Can White-Label (and Why Bit.ly Pricing Made Me Do It)

#webdev #api #showdev #tooling

The Problem: URL Shorteners Hate Developers

I needed to add link shortening to a side project. Simple, right?

Bit.ly: $348/year for API access. Limited calls. Still shows their branding.

Rebrandly: $69/month for decent API limits. Custom domains cost extra.

TinyURL: Free, but no API. Copy-paste like it's 2005.

All I wanted was:

A clean REST API I can call from anywhere
My own domain (not bit.ly/xyz)
No monthly fees eating into my project budget
Something I can spin up in 5 minutes

So I built it.

Introducing jo4.io

jo4.io is an API-first URL shortener built for developers.

# Create a short link
curl -X POST https://jo4-api.jo4.io/api/v1/protected/url \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com/very/long/path"}'

Response:

{
  "shortUrl": "abc123",
  "originalUrl": "https://example.com/very/long/path"
}

Access the shortened link at:

https://jo4-api.jo4.io/api/v1/public/a/abc123

That's it. No OAuth dance. No webhook configuration wizard. No 47-page API docs for a simple POST request.

Why API-First Matters

Most URL shorteners are built for marketers clicking buttons in a dashboard. The API is an afterthought—rate-limited, poorly documented, expensive.

jo4 flips that. The API is the product. The dashboard is just a nice-to-have.

Real Use Cases I've Built With It

Slack Bot Integration

@app.route("/shorten", methods=["POST"])
def shorten():
    url = request.form.get("text")
    response = requests.post(
        "https://jo4-api.jo4.io/api/v1/protected/url",
        headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}"},
        json={"url": url}
    )
    short_code = response.json()["shortUrl"]
    return f"https://jo4-api.jo4.io/api/v1/public/a/{short_code}"

CI/CD Build Artifacts
Share build artifacts with short, memorable links that expire after 7 days.

Zapier/Make Automation
Shorten links automatically when new content is published.

Embedded in My SaaS
Users create shareable links without ever leaving my app.

White-Label: Your Brand, Not Mine

Here's what annoyed me about every URL shortener: even when you pay for custom domains, their branding is everywhere.

jo4 is different. With the white-label option:

Feature	What You Get
Custom domain	`links.yourcompany.com`
Dashboard	Your logo, your colors
Short URLs	`yourcompany.com/promo`
QR codes	Your logo in the center
Emails	From your domain

Nobody sees "jo4" anywhere.

This is perfect for:

Agencies offering branded links to clients
SaaS products embedding link shortening as a feature
Enterprises with strict branding requirements

The Technical Details (For Those Who Care)

Stack

Backend: Spring Boot 3.5, Java 21
Database: PostgreSQL with connection pooling
Cache: Redis for fast redirects
Auth: JWT with API key scopes
Infra: AWS with global CDN

Performance

Redirects happen at the edge. Average response time: <50ms globally.

Short codes use base62 encoding (a-z, A-Z, 0-9) for maximum density. Six characters = 56 billion possible URLs.

Collision Handling

Auto-generated slugs check for collisions before saving. Custom slugs return a clear error if taken.

What's Included

Core

Unlimited short links
Custom slugs (/sale, /demo) or auto-generated
Link expiration (optional)
Password protection (optional)
301 or 302 redirects

Analytics

Click counts
Referrer tracking
Geographic breakdown
Device & browser stats
CSV/JSON export

Developer Experience

REST API with OpenAPI docs
Scoped API keys (read/write/admin)
Webhooks for click events
Rate limiting you control
SDKs for JS, Python, Go

Pricing That Doesn't Suck

Plan	Price	What You Get
Free	$0	1K links, 10K clicks/mo, API access
Pro	$9/mo	Unlimited everything
White-Label	$149/mo	Rebrand + resell rights

No "contact sales" for basic features. No surprise overages. No enterprise tax.

vs. The Competition

Feature	Bit.ly	Rebrandly	jo4
API access	Paid tier	Paid tier	Free tier
Custom domains	1 (paid)	5 (paid)	5 (paid)
White-label	No	Extra $$	Available
Free tier	No	No	Yes

Try It Now

Sign up at jo4.io
Copy your API key
curl away

That's it. You're shortening links in under 2 minutes.

What's Next

Currently building:

Browser extension for one-click shortening
Team workspaces with shared analytics
More OAuth providers for the dashboard
Cloudflare Workers deployment option

Questions?

Drop them in the comments. Happy to dive into:

API design decisions
How the redirect caching works
White-label implementation details
Anything else

If you've been burned by URL shortener pricing, I feel you. That's why this exists.

Check it out: jo4.io

Your links. Your brand. Your API.

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