Kutt — Modern Self-Hosted URL Shortener

Introduction

Kutt is a modern, open-source URL shortener that supports custom domains, link expiration, password protection, and click analytics. It offers a clean REST API and can be self-hosted as an alternative to Bitly or TinyURL.

What Kutt Does

• Shortens URLs with optional custom slugs and custom domains
• Tracks clicks with geographic, browser, and referrer analytics
• Supports link expiration, password protection, and ban lists
• Provides a REST API for programmatic link creation and management
• Offers a browser extension for quick shortening from any page

Architecture Overview

Kutt is a Node.js application built with Express and Next.js for the frontend. It uses PostgreSQL for storing links and analytics data, and Redis for rate limiting and caching. The app runs as a single service behind a reverse proxy. Authentication is handled via JWT with email-based registration or SMTP-less local accounts.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Requires Node.js 18+, PostgreSQL, and Redis
• Configure via .env file: set DB_HOST, REDIS_HOST, MAIL_*, and DEFAULT_DOMAIN
• Run with Docker Compose for the simplest setup
• Add custom domains by pointing DNS to your Kutt instance and setting CUSTOM_DOMAIN_USE_HTTPS
• Enable or disable registration, link analytics, and email verification via environment variables

Key Features

• Custom domain support for branded short links
• Detailed click analytics with charts and geographic data
• Link management dashboard with search, edit, and bulk delete
• REST API with API key authentication for automation
• Rate limiting and spam protection with configurable thresholds

Comparison with Similar Tools

• YOURLS — PHP-based, plugin ecosystem, no built-in analytics dashboard
• Shlink — PHP with CLI and REST API, supports QR codes and multi-domain natively
• Dub — Modern SaaS-first shortener with analytics; self-hosting requires more setup
• Polr — PHP-based, lightweight, but less actively maintained
• Lnk — Minimal shortener without analytics or custom domains

FAQ

Q: Can I use multiple custom domains? A: Kutt supports one custom domain per instance in the open-source version. For multiple domains, run separate instances or use a fork with multi-domain patches.

Q: Does Kutt support SSO or OAuth? A: Not natively. Authentication is email/password with JWT. You can add SSO via a reverse proxy like Authelia.

Q: How do I migrate from another shortener? A: Import links via the REST API by scripting POST requests to /api/v2/links with your existing slugs and targets.

Q: Is there a click analytics retention policy? A: Kutt stores all clicks indefinitely by default. You can set up a cron job to prune old analytics data from PostgreSQL.

Sources

• https://github.com/thedevs-network/kutt
• https://kutt.it