Bitly
URL shortening and link management service for creating concise, trackable links with analytics
Open-Source Projects
Discover top open-source software, updated regularly with real-world adoption signals.
Discover top open-source software, updated regularly with real-world adoption signals.
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.
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.
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
It encodes the target address into a sequence of zero‑width Unicode characters appended to the service’s domain.
They work in browsers that preserve zero‑width characters in the address bar; some older or restrictive environments may drop them.
Yes, the repository includes a Next.js/Node.js app with PostgreSQL that can be deployed to any Node‑compatible host.
The service provides Shields.io endpoints `/stats/shields/urls` and `/stats/shields/visits` that return badge images reflecting live counts.
The public instance is open; self‑hosted deployments can add authentication or rate limits as needed.
Project at a glance
ActiveLast synced 4 days ago
