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Getting StartedGetting Started

Source: Jolli-sample-repos/url-shortener  Last Updated: 4/8/2026

Getting Started

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 16+
  • npm 7+
  • Python 3 (for frontend server)

Installation

# Backend
cd backend && npm install && npm run dev
 
# Frontend (separate terminal)
cd frontend && python -m http.server 8000

Backend: http://localhost:3001  Frontend: http://localhost:8000 

Verify backend is running:

curl http://localhost:3001/health
# Returns: {"status":"healthy","timestamp":"2024-01-15T10:00:00.000Z"}

Using the Frontend

Open http://localhost:8000  to use the web interface:

  • Create URLs with form
  • View list of all URLs
  • Copy short URLs to clipboard
  • Delete URLs

Using the API

Create a short URL:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3001/api/v1/urls \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"longUrl": "https://example.com"}'
 
# Returns:
# {
#   "shortCode": "AbC123",
#   "longUrl": "https://example.com",
#   "createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:00:00.000Z",
#   "clicks": 0
# }

Access the short URL (use shortCode from response):

curl -L http://localhost:3001/r/AbC123
# Redirects (302) to https://example.com

View full API Reference for all endpoints.

Configuration

Optional .env in backend/:

PORT=3001
BASE_URL=http://localhost:3001
NODE_ENV=development

Troubleshooting

Port in use: Change the port in use, you may want to consider using .env file if you come across this issue.

PORT=3002 npm run dev

Module not found: Typically when there are missing dependencies, node module corruption, or commands run in the wrong directory.

cd backend
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

TypeScript errors: Typically for incompatible Node.js version, malformed tsconfig.json, or using the wrong npm command (npm start for example).

npm run build  # Check compilation errors
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