All about Shortify

Using Shortify

Tired of long URLs? Shortify them!
Enter a URL in the box below, click the button, and get a new URL that's (hopefully) shorter. It's that easy with Shortify!

How long do links last?

Forever.

Shortify in your browser

Drag this to your bookmarks toolbar or menu: Shortify This Page. You can use it to easily shortify the URL for the page you are on. Also try: Shortify This Page (Advanced).

Shortify on the Command Line

Want Shortify! for your Linux, Windows, or Mac command prompt? Write your own script (hint: preface any URL with "http://shortify.com/sshorten.php?url=") and you'll get a machine-readable response) or use our precoded Python script with your OS of choice!

Shortify on your Mobile Phone

Try going to http://74678439.com (74678439 is SHORTIFY on a phone keypad). Use Shortify to store your favorite URLs for quick access. Or, send a Shortify URL as an SMS messege.

What powers Shortify?

Shortify runs on Linux (Debian Sarge), Apache2, PHP, and MySQL. Our server is a virtual (User Mode Linux) server located in Denver, CO. Because of the database-driven nature and small page sizes on Shortify, the relatively limited resources of our server, and the excessive amount of bandwidth we have available, Shortify is not bandwidth limited.

How does Shortify work?

Shortify is a simple PHP/MySQL application. When you submit a URL, the PHP script checks if the URL is in the database. If it is, the script increments the "shortified" counter for that particular ID and returns the URL. If not, the script generates a new ID (the largest existing ID plus one) and returns that. It's really that simple.

Who pays for this?

Shortify is paid for and operated by its creator, Brian Cairns <bsoft@fast-email.com>. I am a supporter of web standards and open-source. I am the developer and project manager for the GTKWifi project, and I help out on other projects wherever possible.

Bandwidth and server space is kindly provided by tummy.com, ltd in return for my work on their website.