URL Shortener Service

A practice project exploring Java & Kotlin interoperability with Spring Boot.

📋 Overview

This project is a lightweight URL shortening service built to demonstrate backend development skills and explore the hybrid use of Java and Kotlin within a single Spring Boot application.

• Core Logic: Written in Java (Base62 Encoding) to demonstrate algorithmic logic
• Web Layer: Written in Kotlin using Spring Boot for concise REST controllers
• Persistence: PostgreSQL with Spring Data JPA
• Caching: Redis
• Containerization: Deployed using Docker

It serves as a playground for testing concepts and filling out my GitHub portfolio with a working example of modern backend practices.

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Languages: Java 21, Kotlin 2.2
• Framework: Spring Boot 3
• Database: PostgreSQL 17, Redis
• Containerization: Docker & Docker Compose
• Build Tool: Maven

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository.

   git clone https://github.com/gluck243/url-shortener.git

2. Create a .env file in the root directory with the following variables:

   POSTGRES_USER=postgres
   POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password
   POSTGRES_DB=url_shortener

3. Build the application:

   mvn clean package -DskipTests

4. Launch the stack (App + Database):

   docker compose up --build

5. Access the API Documentation:

   • http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui/index.html

API Endpoints

• POST /api/shorten - Accepts {"url": "...", "alias": "..."} and returns a short link.
• GET /api/{shortCode} - Redirects to the original URL.