SmartLink is a self-hosted URL shortener and QR code generator built on Laravel. It lets you create short, branded links and dynamic QR codes, then track every click with detailed analytics, all from a clean admin dashboard.

Built for agencies, marketers, and developers who want full control over their link data instead of relying on third-party shorteners, SmartLink combines a fast redirect engine with a modern reporting interface, API access for automation, and a polished, ready-to-deploy frontend.

The codebase is structured for easy customization, clean controllers, service classes, and a database-driven configuration system mean you can extend or white-label the product without digging through messy code.

- Custom short link creation with editable slugs
- Dynamic QR code generation for every link
- Password-protected link generating.
- Click analytics dashboard with visual charts (geographic, device, referrer breakdown)
- Searchable, sortable link management table
- RESTful API with token-based authentication for programmatic link creation
- Database-driven SMTP/mail configuration (no .env edits needed for mail setup)
- Custom 404 / link-expired / link-unavailable pages
- Dark-themed, responsive landing page
- Background job processing for click tracking (non-blocking redirects)
- Clean, documented codebase following Laravel best practices
- Built-in error handling with structured JSON API responses

- PHP 8.3 or higher
- MySQL 5.7+ / MariaDB 10.3+
- Composer
- Laravel-compatible hosting (Apache/Nginx) with mod_rewrite or equivalent
- Cron job support (for scheduled tasks and queue processing)
- SSL certificate recommended (required if using custom short domains)

1. Upload files to your server and run `composer install`.
2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env` and set your database credentials and APP_URL.
3. Generate the app key: `php artisan key:generate`
4. Run migrations: `php artisan migrate`
5. Set up a cron job to run the Laravel scheduler every minute:
   * * * * * php /path-to-project/artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1
6. Configure a queue worker (Supervisor or equivalent) to process click-tracking jobs.
7. Log in to the admin panel and configure mail settings under Settings > Mail.
8. (Optional) Point your custom domain to the server and update APP_URL for branded short links.