Bitly
URL shortening and link management service for creating concise, trackable links with analytics
Zero Width Shortener (ZWS)
Compress URLs into invisible characters for seamless sharing
ZWS shortens links by encoding them with zero‑width Unicode characters. Access via web UI, CLI, or OpenAPI, and monitor usage with Shields.io stats badges.
Overview
Highlights
Invisible zero‑width character encoding produces blank‑looking URLs
Web UI, CLI, and OpenAPI for flexible link creation
Shields.io endpoints provide live usage statistics
Apache‑2.0 licensed TypeScript codebase
Pros
- No visible URL clutter in text
- Multiple access methods (web, CLI, API)
- Easy monitoring via badge endpoints
- Open‑source and permissively licensed
Considerations
- Some platforms may strip zero‑width characters
- Can be flagged by security filters as suspicious
- Requires PostgreSQL for self‑hosting
- Not suitable for QR code generation
Managed products teams compare with
When teams consider Zero Width Shortener (ZWS), these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.
Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.
Fit guide
Great for
- Developers needing programmatic link shortening
- Users who want discreet links in documentation
- Projects that can run a Node/TypeScript service
- Communities that value open‑source tooling
Not ideal when
- Environments that normalize or remove Unicode characters
- Use cases requiring QR codes or visual link previews
- Non‑technical users unfamiliar with CLI tools
- Platforms that block zero‑width characters for security
How teams use it
Embedding links in technical documentation
Readers see clean text while the hidden link directs to the resource
Automated link generation in CI pipelines
Scripts produce invisible short URLs for release notes without manual steps
Social media posts with minimal visual clutter
Posts contain functional links that do not affect layout or character count
Monitoring link usage via Shields badges
Dashboards display live counts of created and visited URLs
Tech snapshot
TypeScript98%
JavaScript1%
CSS1%
Procfile1%
Frequently asked questions
How does ZWS create invisible URLs?
It encodes the target address into a sequence of zero‑width Unicode characters appended to the service’s domain.
Are the shortened links compatible with all browsers?
They work in browsers that preserve zero‑width characters in the address bar; some older or restrictive environments may drop them.
Can I self‑host ZWS?
Yes, the repository includes a Next.js/Node.js app with PostgreSQL that can be deployed to any Node‑compatible host.
How are usage statistics accessed?
The service provides Shields.io endpoints `/stats/shields/urls` and `/stats/shields/visits` that return badge images reflecting live counts.
Is authentication or rate limiting required?
The public instance is open; self‑hosted deployments can add authentication or rate limits as needed.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 1,804
- Watchers
- 1,804
- Forks
- 150
LicenseApache-2.0
Repo age6 years old
Last commit2 days ago
Primary languageTypeScript
Last synced yesterday