CUTR

CUTR is a URL shortening service with support for storing and caching links in PostgreSQL and Redis. The application is written in C++ using the Drogon framework and is fully asynchronous.

Screenshots

URL Input:

Shortened Link:

Features

• Create short links for long URLs
• Redirect from a short link to the original URL
• Cache links in Redis to speed up redirects
• Track link usage statistics (hit counts)
• Persistent storage using PostgreSQL

Architecture

• Controllers: LinkController handles API endpoints for creating and redirecting links
• Services: LinkService and RedirectService implement business logic
• Repositories: interact with data through the ILinkRepository interface and concrete implementations for PostgreSQL and Redis
• Caching: Redis is used for fast lookup and redirect
• Asynchronous: all database and cache operations are performed in coroutines

API Examples

Below are the primary endpoints exposed by CUTR.
All responses are JSON.

Create a short link

POST /shorten

Request body:

{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
}

Example request:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/shorten \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"}'

Example response:

{
    "shortCode": "r/AbC123"
}

Redirect to the original URL

GET /{short-code}

Example request:

curl http://localhost:8080/r/AbC123

Example response:

HTTP/1.1 302 Found
Location: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

If the short link does not exist:

HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found
Short link not found

Running with Docker

CUTR provides a fully containerized setup using docker-compose.
This includes the application itself, PostgreSQL, and Redis.

0. Clone the repository

Make sure to clone the project together with all submodules:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/capybaracplusplus/cutr.git

cd cutr

1. Prepare the .env file

Create a .env file in the project root:

POSTGRES_USER=postgres
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres
POSTGRES_DB=cutr
POSTGRES_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=5432

REDIS_HOST=cutr-redis
REDIS_PORT=6379

LISTEN_ADDR=0.0.0.0
LISTEN_PORT=8080

2. Build the containers

Run the following command in the project directory:

docker-compose build --no-cache

# Start in foreground (recommended for development)
docker-compose up

# Start in background
docker-compose up -d