Sink: Simple, speedy, secure link shortener with analytics and deployed with Cloudflare
Sink is a self-hosted url shortener tool. Simple, speedy, secure link shortener with analytics and deployed with Cloudflare.
Why self-host Sink
Self-hosting Sink removes the dependency on a third-party service. For anyone who values data ownership, that matters more than convenience in the long run.
What it does
Sink falls into the URL Shortener category of self-hosted software. It is designed to be deployed on your own infrastructure, whether that is a home server, a VPS, or a local machine running Docker.
Community traction
The project has 2k stars on GitHub, which is a reasonable proxy for how widely it is used. Active repositories tend to ship bug fixes faster and have better documentation than projects that stall after the initial release.
Deployment
Like most modern self-hosted apps, Sink supports Docker. A single compose file handles the deployment in most cases.
Alternatives
If Sink does not fit your needs, common alternatives include Bitly. The self-hosted versions of these tools often differ in resource requirements and feature focus, so it is worth testing the one that matches your workload.
Maturity
The current version is 0.1.3, which means the project is still pre-1.0. That is not a disqualifier, but it is worth checking the changelog before upgrading in a setup where stability matters.
License
It is licensed under AGPL-3.0, making it freely available for personal and commercial use.
Links
For anyone already running a home server, Sink is a natural addition. It handles url shortener without requiring a paid subscription or an account with a third party.