# Link Shortener (/examples/link-shortener)



This example shows how to build a link shortener landing page with Rustinx. No database needed — all redirects are defined in a TOML file.

## Use Case [#use-case]

You want `links.mysite.com/social/youtube` to redirect to your YouTube channel, `links.mysite.com/support` to redirect to your support page, and the root `/` to serve a landing page listing all links.

## Project Structure [#project-structure]

<Files>
  <Folder name="links-site">
    <Folder name="public">
      <File name="index.html" />

      <Folder name="assets">
        <File name="style.css" />
      </Folder>
    </Folder>

    <File name="redirects.toml" />

    <File name="rustinx.toml" />
  </Folder>
</Files>

## Config [#config]

```toml title="rustinx.toml"
[server]
listen = "0.0.0.0:9090"
behind_proxy = true
trusted_proxy_depth = 2

[[vhost]]
hostnames = ["_"]
root = "/static"
spa = false
redirects_file = "/etc/rustinx/redirects/links.toml"
```

## Redirects File [#redirects-file]

```toml title="redirects.toml"
# Social links
[[redirect]]
path = "/social/youtube"
url = "https://www.youtube.com/@myuser/videos"

[[redirect]]
path = "/social/discord"
url = "https://discord.com/invite/abc123"

[[redirect]]
path = "/social/github"
url = "https://github.com/myuser"

[[redirect]]
path = "/social/twitter"
url = "https://x.com/myuser"

[[redirect]]
path = "/social/linkedin"
url = "https://www.linkedin.com/in/myuser"

# Support
[[redirect]]
path = "/support"
url = "https://buymeacoffee.com/myuser"

# Affiliate links
[[redirect]]
path = "/affiliate/hosting"
url = "https://hosting.example/?ref=myuser"
```

## Docker Compose [#docker-compose]

```yaml title="docker-compose.yml"
services:
  links:
    image: ghcr.io/shadowarcanist/rustinx:v1.0
    expose:
      - "9090"
    volumes:
      - ./rustinx.toml:/etc/rustinx/rustinx.toml:ro
      - ./public:/static:ro
      - ./redirects.toml:/etc/rustinx/redirects/links.toml:ro
    read_only: true
    cap_drop:
      - ALL
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.links.rule=Host(`links.mysite.com`)"
      - "traefik.http.services.links.loadbalancer.server.port=9090"
```

## How It Works [#how-it-works]

| Request           | Response                           |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| `/`               | Serves `index.html` (landing page) |
| `/social/youtube` | 301 redirect to YouTube            |
| `/social/discord` | 301 redirect to Discord            |
| `/support`        | 301 redirect to support page       |
| `/unknown`        | 404 Not Found                      |

Redirects are checked before static file serving. If a redirect path matches, the redirect happens immediately without touching the filesystem.

## Adding New Links [#adding-new-links]

Edit `redirects.toml` and restart the container:

```bash
docker compose restart links
```

No rebuild needed since the redirects file is mounted as a volume.