Own Your Short Links: Shlink, the Definitive Self-Hosted URL Shortener

GitHub Repo: shlinkio/shlink — PHP, MIT-licensed.

Shlink lets you run Bitly-style short URLs under your own domain, with full data ownership.

What it is:
Self-hosted core + REST API + CLI (bin/cli) + optional web app (app.shlink.io or self-hosted shlink-web-client).

Key capabilities:

• Custom domains, custom slugs, QR codes, link expiration and password protection
• Visit analytics with GeoLite2 geolocation, referrers, bots filtering
• API-key management, multi-user isolation, import from Bitly
• CLI parity with API for scripting/automation

Deploy:
Docker image shlinkio/shlink (env-var config, recommended) or dist zip. Requires PHP 8.4/8.5, MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL/MSSQL/SQLite.

Bottom line: If you need branded short links without SaaS lock-in or per-click fees, and you can run Docker/PHP, Shlink is the default choice.