🔗 Shortn — URL Shortener Web App

🌐 Live Demo »

Shortn is a clean, beginner-friendly URL shortener web app built with Flask. It allows users to create and manage short, trackable URLs — with or without an account.

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✨ Features

• 🔗 Instantly shorten long URLs
• 📥 Redirect users to the original link when a short URL is visited
• 📈 Track total clicks per URL (logged-in users only)
• 📸 Generate a QR Code for every shortened link
• 📊 View per-link analytics via a personal dashboard
• 👤 Optional user accounts for dashboard access
• ❌ Delete account if you forget your password — no recovery needed
• 🎉 Confetti animation on successful shortening (because why not?)

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🧠 Why Use Shortn?

You don’t need an account to shorten links.

However, if you create one, you get:

• A private dashboard with your shortened links
• Click tracking stats
• QR code previews
• The ability to delete your account anytime

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🚀 Getting Started

To run Shortn locally:

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/rd9437/url-shortener.git
cd url-shortener

2. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Run the Flask app:

python app.py

Visit http://localhost:5000 in your browser.

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🗂️ Project Structure

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├── app.py                # Main Flask application
├── requirements.txt      # Python dependencies
├── static/               # Static files (CSS, JS, images)
│   ├── styles.css
│   └── confetti.js
├── templates/            # HTML templates
│   ├── index.html
│   ├── shorten.html
│   ├── dashboard.html
│   ├── login.html
│   ├── register.html
│   └── analytics.html
└── README.md

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🛠️ Tech Stack

• Flask — Python web framework
• Flask-Login — User authentication
• Flask-SQLAlchemy — Database ORM
• Tailwind CSS — Modern utility-first CSS
• canvas-confetti — Fun confetti animation

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💡 How It Works

• Enter a long URL and get a short, shareable link.
• If you’re logged in, your links are saved to your dashboard.
• Each link has a QR code and click analytics.
• No password recovery: if you forget your password, just delete your account and start fresh.

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🙋 FAQ

Q: Do I need an account to use Shortn?
A: No! Anyone can shorten links. Accounts are only needed for dashboards and analytics.

Q: Can I reset my password?
A: No. For privacy and simplicity, password reset is not available. You can delete your account and create a new one.

Q: Is my data private?
A: Yes. Only you can see your dashboard and links when logged in.

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📬 Support

Have questions or suggestions?
Open an issue or reach out via rudransh.tech.