Longless

Video Demo:

https://youtu.be/Ehkfvp1yKjw

Description:

Longless is a full-stack URL shortening service built with Node.js and Express. It allows users to create shortened URLs, track clicks, and manage their links through a personalized dashboard.

Table of contents

• Features
• Technologies Used
  • Backend
  • Frontend
• Database Schema
  • Users Table
  • URLs Table
  • Clicks Table
• Project Structure
• Installation & Setup
• Logging System
• Credits

Features

• User Authentication: Secure registration and login with bcrypt password hashing
• URL Shortening: Generate short, unique alphanumeric codes for long URLs
• Click Analytics: Track every click with timestamp, IP address and user agent
• User Dashboard: View all your links, clicks statistics, and manage your URLs
• Link Management: Copy links to clipboard and delete unwanted URLs
• Responsive Design: Clean, modern interface built with Tailwind CSS
• Production logging for monitoring and debugging

Technologies Used

Backend

• Node.js & Express.js: Server and routing
• SQLite (better-sqlite3): Lightweight database with synchronous API
• bcrypt.js: Password hashing for security
• express-session: Session management
• EJS: Server-side templating

Frontend

• Tailwind CSS: Utility-first CSS framework
• Vanilla Javascript: Interactive features (copy to clipboard)

Database Schema

Users Table

• id: Primary key
• username: Unique username
• email: Unique email
• hash: Bcrypt hashed password
• created_at: Registration timestamp

URLs Table

• id: Primary key
• user_id: Foreign key to users
• short_code: Unique short code (e.g., "abc123")
• original_url: The original long URL
• created_at: Creation timestamp
• title: Optional link title

Clicks Table

• id: Primary key
• url_id: Foreign key to urls (CASCADE on delete)
• clicked_at: Click timestamp
• ip_address: Visitor IP
• user_agent: Browser/device info

Project Structure

longless/
├── config/
│   ├── database.js       # SQLite connection and schema
│   └── dbHelpers.js      # Database query functions
├── middleware/
│   ├── auth.js           # requireAuth, requireGuest
│   ├── render.js         # Custom render wrapper
│   └── notFound.js       # 404 handler
├── routes/
│   ├── auth.js           # Login, register, logout
│   ├── links.js          # Link CRUD operations
│   └── redirect.js       # Short code redirect
├── utils/
│   └── helpers.js        # generateShortCode, isValidUrl
├── views/
│   ├── layouts/
│   │   └── main.ejs      # Base layout
│   ├── index.ejs         # Landing page
│   ├── login.ejs         # Login page
│   ├── register.ejs      # Registration page
│   ├── dashboard.ejs     # User dashboard
│   ├── notFound.ejs      # Not found page
│   └── error.ejs         # Error page
├── public/
│   └── (static assets)
├── app.js                # Main application file
├── package.json
└── .env                  # Environment variables

Installation & Setup

1.Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/omaresaa/longless.git

cd longless

2.Install dependencies

npm i

3.Set up environment variables

cp .env.example .env

# Edit .env and add your SESSION_SECRET

4.Run the application

npm run dev

5.Open in browser

http://localhost:3000

Logging System

The application includes comprehensive structured logging for monitoring and debugging:

Features

• Structured JSON Format: Easy to parse and analyze
• Multiple Log Levels: INFO, WARN, DEBUG, ERROR
• Separate Error Logs: Quick access to failures
• Contextual Meta Data: User IDs, timestamps, request details
• Development Console: Colored output for easier local debugging

Log Files

• log/app.log - All application logs
• log/error.log - Error-level log only

Logged Events

• User registration and authentication
• Link creation and deletion
• Failed login attempts (security monitoring)
• Short link redirects and clicks
• Application errors with full stack traces
• Invalid URL attempts
• HTTP Requests

Example log entry:

{
  "timestamp": "2025-12-18T15:30:45.123Z",
  "level": "INFO",
  "message": "Link created",
  "userId": 5,
  "shortCode": "abc123",
  "originalUrl": "https://github.com"
}

Credits

Created by Omar Esa for CS50x Final Project.