API reference

YakLink API documentation

A simple REST API to create short links programmatically. Every account gets an API key and a monthly quota that matches its plan. The full machine-readable spec is available as OpenAPI (openapi.yaml).

New here? Start with Getting Started, follow a how-to guide, or skim the FAQ.

Endpoint

POST https://yaklinks.com/v1/shorten

Parameters may be sent as a query string or as a form-encoded body. GET is also accepted for quick testing.

Authentication

Every request requires an apiKey parameter. Create and manage keys on the API Keys page. Keep secret keys on your server. Your monthly request quota is determined by your plan — see Pricing.

Query parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
`apiKey`	Yes	API key issued by YakLink.
`url`	Yes	The long destination URL to shorten (must be a valid `http`/`https` URL).
`domain`	No	Domain for the short link. Defaults to `yak.link` (`yakl.ink` also available). To use a custom domain it must be verified on your account.
`slug`	No	Custom slug (letters, digits, hyphens, underscores). If omitted, an 8-character slug is generated. Must be unique for the domain.

Code samples

cURL

curl -X POST "https://yaklinks.com/v1/shorten" \
  --data-urlencode "apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "url=https://example.com/very/long/path" \
  --data-urlencode "slug=spring-sale"

JavaScript (fetch)

const body = new URLSearchParams({
  apiKey: "YOUR_API_KEY",
  url: "https://example.com/very/long/path",
});
const res = await fetch("https://yaklinks.com/v1/shorten", {
  method: "POST",
  body,
});
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data.short_url);

Python (requests)

import requests

r = requests.post("https://yaklinks.com/v1/shorten", data={
    "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "url": "https://example.com/very/long/path",
})
print(r.json()["short_url"])

PHP

<?php
$body = http_build_query([
    "apiKey" => "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "url"    => "https://example.com/very/long/path",
]);
$ctx = stream_context_create(["http" => [
    "method"  => "POST",
    "header"  => "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded",
    "content" => $body,
]]);
$res = json_decode(file_get_contents("https://yaklinks.com/v1/shorten", false, $ctx), true);
echo $res["short_url"];

Go

form := url.Values{}
form.Set("apiKey", "YOUR_API_KEY")
form.Set("url", "https://example.com/very/long/path")

resp, _ := http.PostForm("https://yaklinks.com/v1/shorten", form)
defer resp.Body.Close()
var out map[string]interface{}
json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&out)
fmt.Println(out["short_url"])

Ruby

require "net/http"; require "json"; require "uri"

res = Net::HTTP.post_form(
  URI("https://yaklinks.com/v1/shorten"),
  "apiKey" => "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "url"    => "https://example.com/very/long/path")
puts JSON.parse(res.body)["short_url"]

Response

A successful request returns 200 with the created link:

{
  "ok": true,
  "short_url": "https://yak.link/aB3xK7",
  "slug": "aB3xK7",
  "domain": "yak.link",
  "long_url": "https://example.com/very/long/path"
}

Field	Type	Description
`ok`	boolean	True when the link was created.
`short_url`	string	The full short link, ready to share.
`slug`	string	The slug (path component) of the short link.
`domain`	string	The domain the link was created on.
`long_url`	string	The destination URL that was shortened.

Redirects

Visiting a short link issues an HTTP redirect to the destination and records a click for your analytics:

GET https://yak.link/aB3xK7   →   302 Found  (Location: long_url)

Errors

Errors return a non-200 status with a JSON body of the form { "ok": false, "error": "code", "message": "..." }.

Status	error	Meaning
`401`	`missing_api_key`	The `apiKey` parameter was not supplied.
`402`	`invalid_api_key`	API key is invalid or has reached its monthly request limit.
`400`	`missing_url` / `invalid_url`	The `url` parameter is missing or not a valid URL.
`400`	`invalid_slug`	The slug contains characters other than letters, digits, hyphens, and underscores.
`409`	`slug_taken`	The requested slug is already in use on that domain.
`422`	`domain_not_found`	The custom domain is not verified for your account.
`500`	`db_error`	An unexpected server error occurred.

Usage, plans & quotas

Each plan includes a monthly allowance of created links; one /v1/shorten call counts as one. Redirects (clicks) are unlimited and never count against your quota. Your remaining allowance is shown on the API Keys page, and you can change plans on the Account & Billing page.

Plan	Links / month	Price
Free trial	10	30 days, no card required
Basic	500	$10 / month
Advanced	2,500	$50 / month
Enterprise	10,000	$100 / month

A machine-readable OpenAPI spec is available at https://yaklinks.com/openapi.yaml for use with code generators and API tooling.