LinkPulse – High-Performance URL Shortener API

Overview

LinkPulse is a scalable backend URL shortening service built with Go and Gin. It enables users to create custom short links, manage URLs securely, generate QR codes, and track click analytics through a robust REST API. The project follows Clean Architecture principles for maintainability and scalability.

Features

Secure JWT Authentication & Authorization
URL Shortening with Custom Aliases
QR Code Generation
Click Analytics
Redis Caching for High Performance
PostgreSQL Database
RESTful APIs
Swagger API Documentation
Dockerized Development Environment
Load Testing with k6
Structured Logging & Configuration Management

Tech Stack

Backend

Go
Gin

Database & Cache

PostgreSQL
Redis

Authentication

JWT

DevOps

Docker
Docker Compose

Documentation & Testing

Swagger (Swaggo)
k6 Load Testing

Architecture

The project follows Clean Architecture, separating business logic, infrastructure, and API layers to improve scalability, maintainability, and testability.

Client
   │
   ▼
Gin HTTP Server
   │
   ▼
Handlers
   │
   ▼
Services
   │
   ▼
Repositories
   │
 ┌─┴─────────────┐
 ▼               ▼
Redis       PostgreSQL

API Highlights

User Authentication
URL Management
Custom Short Links
Redirect Service
QR Code Generation
Analytics APIs
Health Check Endpoints

Performance

LinkPulse includes Redis caching to reduce database load and improve response times. The APIs have also been validated using k6 load testing to ensure reliability under concurrent traffic.

What I Learned

While building LinkPulse, I gained hands-on experience with:

Clean Architecture in Go
Designing scalable REST APIs
Authentication using JWT
Database optimization
Redis caching strategies
Docker-based development
API documentation using Swagger
Backend performance testing with k6

Future Improvements

React-based Analytics Dashboard
User Workspace Management
Team Collaboration
Advanced Analytics
Geo-location Statistics
Link Expiration Policies
Custom Domains
CI/CD Pipeline