URL Shortener using Django restframework

This is a solution to the URL shortener project on roadmap.sh : https://roadmap.sh/projects/url-shortening-service

This project is a lightweight URL shortening service built using Django, Django REST Framework, and PostgreSQL. It provides a RESTful API for creating and managing shortened URLs, along with tracking access statistics.

Key Features

• URL Shortening: Create a compact, unique short code for any given URL.
• Redirection Support: Retrieve and redirect to the original URL using the short code.
• URL Management: Update or deactivate existing shortened URLs.
• URL Deletion: Remove URL mappings when no longer needed.
• Usage Analytics: Monitor how often each shortened URL is accessed along with last accessed time.

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🚀 Setup & Installation

✅ Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• uv
• Docker & Docker Compose

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📦 1. Clone the Repository

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

🔒 2. Set Up Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory and configure it as follows:

DATABASE_USER=
DATABASE_PASSWORD=
DATABASE_DB=
DATABASE_PORT=
DATABASE_HOST=
VOLUME_PATH=

📦 3. Install Dependencies

uv sync

✨ And vola you are done with the setup!!

🐳 4. Start PostgreSQL via Docker Compose

docker compose up -d

⚙️ 5. Apply Migrations

uv run manage.py migrate

🔢 6. Initialize Counter Sequence (One-Time Setup)

To enable your counter system, run the custom management command that creates the PostgreSQL sequence:

python manage.py init_counter

This command creates a sequence named url_shortner starting at 1000000000, if it doesn't already exist.

▶️ 7. Start the Development Server

python manage.py runserver

Visit: http://localhost:8000

📁 8. API Docs

Visit:

• http://localhost:8000/api/docs/swagger/
• http://localhost:8000/api/docs/redoc/