go-urlshortner

Go URL Shortener

This is a simple URL shortening service written in Go, which utilizes the Gin Web Framework for routing and Google Cloud Datastore for persistent storage.

Introduction

This project aims to provide a straightforward and scalable approach to creating short aliases for lengthy URLs. It's constructed in Go and is designed to be simple to deploy and maintain. The service includes basic functionalities such as generating a shortened URL and redirecting to the original URL when accessed.

Features

• 🔗 Shorten URLs: Transform lengthy URLs into concise, easy-to-share identifiers. These short links redirect users to the original URLs, making them more suitable for sharing on social media, in printed materials, or anywhere space is at a premium.

• ↪️ Efficient Redirection: Utilizes HTTP/HTTPS redirection to seamlessly guide users from a short link to the original URL. The redirection process is designed to be quick and reliable, ensuring a smooth user experience.

• 🔌 RESTful API Integration: Offers a suite of RESTful endpoints (POST, GET, PUT, DELETE) for managing shortened URLs. This allows for straightforward integration with other applications or services, facilitating automation and interoperability.

• 🏴‍☠️ Advanced Dependency Injection: Employs dependency injection for essential components, such as the logger and the Datastore client, to promote a modular and testable codebase. This approach allows for swapping components without altering the codebase significantly.

• ⚖️ Designed for Scalability: The service's containerized architecture is optimized for scalability. It's prepared to handle increasing loads and can be scaled out across multiple instances in a cloud-based environment to accommodate growing demand.

• 🛡️ Enhanced Security Measures: Implements security measures to protect sensitive API endpoints. Middleware validates secret tokens to ensure that only authorized services can access certain operations, thus safeguarding against unauthorized use.

• 🔎 Structured Logging: Incorporates the zap logging library for structured, efficient logging. This supports real-time monitoring and aids in the rapid diagnosis and resolution of issues, contributing to the overall reliability of the service.

• 🪫 Graceful Shutdown Capability: The service is designed to respond to shutdown signals appropriately, finishing active operations and releasing resources in an orderly manner. This feature is crucial for maintaining data integrity and service availability during deployments and maintenance.

Environment Configuration

The following table lists the environment variables used by the Go URL Shortener, which you can set to configure the application:

Notes on Environment Variables

• DATASTORE_PROJECT_ID and INTERNAL_SECRET_VALUE are mandatory for the application to function correctly. Without these, the application will not be able to connect to Google Cloud Datastore or secure its endpoints.
• GIN_MODE is optional and controls the framework's runtime mode. The default mode is "debug", which is suitable for development since it provides detailed logging and error messages. However, it is recommended to set GIN_MODE to "release" in a production environment. This turns off debug logging, which can improve performance and prevent the exposure of sensitive information in logs.
• CUSTOM_BASE_PATH is optional and allows you to specify a custom base path for all API endpoints. For example, setting this to /api/v1/ will prefix the routes for retrieving and creating shortened URLs with /api/v1/. If not set, the application will use / as the default base path.
• Always ensure that environment variables containing sensitive information are kept secure. Do not hardcode them in your application or Dockerfile. Instead, use secure methods of configuration like environment variable injection at runtime or secrets management services.

Remember to set these environment variables before running the application, either locally or as part of your deployment process.

Getting Started with Docker

Additional Note:

The Go URL Shortener can be deployed on Google Cloud Run, which is Kubernetes-compatible, by configuring the necessary environment variables. The Docker image required for deployment is available on GitHub.

The Go URL Shortener can be easily run as a Docker container. Make sure you have Docker installed on your system.

To get the Docker image of Go URL Shortener, pull the image from the GitHub Container Registry:

docker pull ghcr.io/h0llyw00dzz/go-urlshortener:latest

Once you have the image, you can run it as a container:

docker run -d -p 8080:8080 \
  -e DATASTORE_PROJECT_ID='your-datastore-project-id' \
  -e INTERNAL_SECRET_VALUE='your-internal-secret' \
  ghcr.io/h0llyw00dzz/go-urlshortener:latest

This command will start the URL Shortener service and bind it to port 8080 on your host machine.

Make sure to replace your-datastore-project-id and your-internal-secret with the actual values you want to use for your deployment. These environment variables will be read by your Go application inside the Docker container to configure the connection to Google Cloud Datastore and to set the internal secret for authentication.

Example Creating a Short URL

To create a short URL, send a POST request with a JSON payload containing the original URL. You'll also need to include a custom internal secret header for authentication purposes.

curl -X POST \
  https://example-your-deployurl-go-dev.a.run.app/ \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'X-Internal-Secret: YOURKEY-SECRET' \
  -d '{"url": "https://go.dev/"}'

Replace YOURKEY-SECRET with the actual secret key required by your deployment.

The service will respond with a JSON object that includes the ID of the shortened URL:

{
  "id": "{ShortenedID}",
  "shortened_url": "https://example-your-deployurl-go-dev.a.run.app/{ShortenedID}"
}

Example Editing a Short URL

To edit an existing short URL, you will send a PUT request with a JSON payload that contains the id of the short URL you want to update, the old_url which is the current URL associated with that id, and the new_url that you want to change it to. This operation also requires the custom internal secret header for authentication purposes.

curl -X PUT \
  https://example-your-deployurl-go-dev.a.run.app/{ShortenedID} \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'X-Internal-Secret: YOURKEY-SECRET' \
  -d '{"id": "{ShortenedID}", "old_url": "https://golang.org/", "new_url": "https://go.dev/"}'

Replace {ShortenedID} with the actual ID of the shortened URL and YOURKEY-SECRET with the actual secret key required by your deployment.

You can then access the shortened URL at https://example-your-deployurl-go-dev.a.run.app/{ShortenedID}, which will redirect you to the original URL.

Example Deleting a Short URL

To delete an existing short URL, you will send a DELETE request with a JSON payload that contains both the id of the short URL and the url that is currently associated with that id. This operation may also require authentication, which should be provided through a custom internal secret header.

curl -X DELETE \
  https://example-your-deployurl-go-dev.a.run.app/{ShortenedID} \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'X-Internal-Secret: YOURKEY-SECRET' \
  -d '{"id": "{ShortenedID}", "url": "https://golang.org/"}'

Replace {ShortenedID} with the actual ID of the shortened URL you wish to delete, https://golang.org/ with the actual URL associated with that ID, and YOURKEY-SECRET with the actual secret key required by your service for authentication.

Roadmap

As the project is written in Go, we are considering the development of our own NoSQL database for persistent storage. This would allow us to tailor the storage solution specifically to our needs and avoid dependency on third-party cloud services.

Contributing

Contributions are very much welcome! Whether you have ideas for improvements or want to help with existing issues, we value your input and collaboration. If you're considering making significant changes or have suggestions, please first open an issue to discuss your ideas. This ensures that we can agree on the best approach and that your efforts align well with the project's direction. To get started and understand our contribution process, please check out our contributing guidelines. Following these guidelines will help ensure a smooth contribution process and increase the likelihood of your contributions being integrated into the project.