Creating short links

The Bytes Developer API lets you create short links programmatically using a workspace-specific API key.

This Beta API is intentionally small. It currently supports creating links only.

Endpoint

POST /api/v1/links

Base URL:

https://api.jaww.ws

Authentication

Send your workspace API key as a bearer token:

Authorization: Bearer <api_key>

API keys are workspace-specific. A key can only create links inside the workspace it belongs to.

Do not put API keys in URLs, query strings, frontend code, screenshots, or public repositories.

Create a link

curl -X POST https://api.jaww.ws/api/v1/links \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <api_key>" \
  -d '{
    "destination_url": "https://example.com/summer-sale",
    "slug": "summer-sale",
    "title": "Summer sale campaign"
  }'

Request fields

Field	Required	Notes
destination_url	Yes	Must be a valid http or https URL
slug	No	3–64 characters, lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens
title	No	Human-readable link title
notes	No	Internal notes
is_active	No	Defaults to active
channel	No	One of social, email, print, ads, sms, other
expires_at	No	Optional expiry datetime
utm_source	No	UTM source
utm_medium	No	UTM medium
utm_campaign	No	UTM campaign
utm_term	No	UTM term
utm_content	No	UTM content

Successful response

{
  "message": "Short link created successfully.",
  "link": {
    "id": 123,
    "workspace_id": 1,
    "slug": "summer-sale",
    "destination_url": "https://example.com/summer-sale",
    "short_url": "https://jaww.ws/s/summer-sale",
    "title": "Summer sale campaign",
    "is_active": true,
    "click_count": 0,
    "unique_click_count": 0
  }
}

Error responses

Missing, invalid, or revoked API key

401 Unauthorized

{
  "message": "Unauthenticated."
}

Invalid destination URL

Only http and https destinations are accepted.

422 Unprocessable Content

{
  "message": "The destination URL must be a valid http or https URL.",
  "errors": {
    "destination_url": [
      "The destination URL must be a valid http or https URL."
    ]
  }
}

Duplicate or reserved slug

422 Unprocessable Content

{
  "message": "That slug is not available.",
  "errors": {
    "slug": [
      "That slug is already in use."
    ]
  }
}

Active-link limit reached

Bytes uses active-link limits per plan. Inactive or archived links do not count toward the limit.

422 Unprocessable Content

{
  "message": "Active link limit reached for this workspace plan.",
  "code": "active_link_limit_reached",
  "limit": 100,
  "active_links": 100,
  "plan": "free"
}

Active-link limits

Plan	Active-link limit
Free	100
Starter	500
Pro	2,000
Business	Unlimited
Enterprise	Unlimited

An active link is a link that is enabled and capable of redirecting visitors.

API key safety

API keys are shown only once when they are created. Store the key securely before leaving the reveal screen.

• Do not commit API keys to source control
• Do not expose API keys in frontend code
• Do not share API keys in screenshots or support messages
• Revoke keys that are no longer needed
• Create separate keys for different systems or integrations

Beta limitations

In Beta, the API currently supports link creation only.

Not yet available:

• Listing links
• Updating links
• Deleting links
• Retrieving analytics
• OAuth2
• API scopes
• SDKs and CLI
• Webhooks
• OpenAPI specification