URL shortener API

Create short links from your own code, your scheduler or your automation tool. Available on every plan, including the free one. There is no sandbox and no trial period.

One call

Send a bearer token and the URL to shorten:

curl -X POST https://urlicer.com/api/v1/links \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer url_live_xxxxxxxx" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com/spring-sale"}'

The response is JSON with the finished short link (short), its code, domain, the destination url, clicks, active, expiresOn and createdOn. Full request and response shapes are in the links reference.

What it covers

• Create a link. A free key creates plain links. Custom aliases, expiry dates, passwords and branded domains need Pro or higher.
• Bulk create up to 10,000 links in one request, on Pro and up, with per-row results so a single bad URL does not fail the batch.
• List, read, update and delete. Change a destination after the fact, which is the point of a short link on something printed.
• A QR code for every link, as an image from the public endpoint /api/url/{code}/qr, which you can use directly as an <img src>.

There are no native integrations with Zapier, Make or n8n. Each of them can call an HTTP endpoint, which is all this needs. If you want a one-click connector, we don't have one, and that is fair to weigh.

Rate limits

Requests are counted per key, over a 60-second window. There is no monthly request cap. The monthly limit that applies is the number of links your plan lets you create.

Every response carries the remaining budget in its headers. The window starts with a key's first request and lasts 60 seconds, so after a 429, wait up to 60 seconds and send the request again. See rate limits.

Using it from a scheduler or an automation

Most integrations are a tool you already run that needs a short link at the end of a step. For example, a social scheduler posting a tagged campaign URL, a nightly job that shortens a feed, or a spreadsheet of 2,000 product links that has to become 2,000 branded ones before a catalogue goes out.

Each of these uses create or bulk create, from anything that can send an HTTP request. For the spreadsheet, bulk creation does it in one request rather than 2,000.

How the limits compare

Bitly meters the API by month: 1,000 requests a month on free and 50,000 on their $199 plan, per their published pricing in September 2026 (Bitly's API limits in detail). We set a per-minute budget instead, from 30/minute on free to 3,000/minute on Business, with no monthly request ceiling.

Create an account and make your first key in a minute, on the free plan too. The reference is in the API docs.

Building links into a product of your own? See short links for your product, with webhooks and your own domain.