Shlink
URL shortener with REST API and command line interface. Includes official progressive web application and docker images.
Description from awesome-selfhosted (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Still maintained? Yes: 45 commits in the last 90 days, latest release v5.1.8 (Oct 2026).
Also an alternative to Bitly.
At a glance
Shlink quick facts
- Health score
- 95/100 GOOD
- Stars
- 5,390
- Last commit
- 6 days ago (Oct 2026)
- Latest release
- v5.1.8, Oct 2026
- Licence
- MIT
Top alternatives to Shlink
Full rankings: Bitly alternatives
In its own words
The project's README opens: "A PHP-based self-hosted URL shortener that can be used to serve shortened URLs under your own domain."
Why it ranks here
Health score explained
Shlink scores 95/100, #1 of 11 in URL Shorteners: 45 commits in the last 90 days earn 35.0 of 35 points, the latest release (v5.1.8, 9 days ago) earns 25.0 of 25, 5,390 stars add 14.9 of 20, an active, unarchived repository keeps 10 and Docker support adds the final 10. That places it in the good band (70 and above). The biggest shortfall is star count, worth 5.1 more points.
Recomputed nightly from the GitHub API. How the score is calculated.
Health over time
- Commit activity 35.0 / 35
45 commits in 90 days (30+ scores full marks)
- Release recency 25.0 / 25
v5.1.8 released 9 days ago
- Stars biggest shortfall 14.9 / 20
5.4k stars on GitHub (logarithmic)
- Not archived 10.0 / 10
Repository is active
- Docker support 10.0 / 10
Docker image or Compose file available
Commit activity
- 45
- Last 90 days
- 278
- Last 12 months
- 6 days ago
- Last push
Ranked #1 of 11 tools in URL Shorteners by health , just above Chhoto URL (#2) .
Details
| Licence | MIT |
| Platforms | PHP, Docker |
| Latest release | v5.1.8 · 9 days ago |
| Stars | 5,390 |
| Open issues | 22 |
| Docker | Yes |
| Repository | shlinkio/shlink ↗ |
Shlink vs its top 5 alternatives
Active tools that share a comparison page or a category with Shlink (URL Shorteners), scored on the same five terms.
| Tool | Health | Stars | Licence | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shlink (this tool) | 95 | 5.4k | MIT | 6 days ago |
| Chhoto URL | 92 | 996 | MIT | today |
| YOURLS | 84 | 12k | MIT | 3 days ago |
| bit | 67 | 108 | MIT | 25 days ago |
| Kutt | 66 | 11k | MIT | 11 days ago |
| rs-short | 35 | 5 | MPL-2.0 | 5 months ago |
Shlink: common questions
What does Shlink replace?
Repoly lists Shlink as an open-source alternative to Bitly. Each comparison page ranks every alternative by the same health score, so you can see where Shlink stands against the others.
Is Shlink still maintained?
Shlink had 45 commits in the last 90 days and its last push was 6 days ago; the latest tagged release, v5.1.8, is from 9 days ago. Repoly recomputes this nightly.
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