Url Shortner (TypeScript)

This project was for learning and exploring HTTP redirections, ORMs (Prisma), and PostgreSQL integration in TypeScript using NestJS.

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🧠 Key Learnings

• Gained a deeper understanding of how decorators work in TypeScript.
• Developed a solid grasp of how NestJS differs from traditional Node.js, particularly its layered architecture and built-in security abstractions.
• Learned how to integrate and format responses from third-party APIs.
• Set up and integrated a Redis cache database within a NestJS project to improve API performance.
• Understood how Prisma ORM simplifies database interaction while ensuring type safety.
• Implemented redirect handling using NestJS decorators (@Get, @Res, @Redirect).
• Explored how PostgreSQL handles relational data with Prisma-generated schemas.

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🧩 Stack

• NestJS – Backend framework
• TypeScript – Strongly typed language
• Prisma ORM – Database management layer
• PostgreSQL – Relational database
• Redis – Caching layer
• CryptoJS (MD5) – URL hashing

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⚙️ Core Features

• Shorten long URLs into unique hashes.
• Redirect automatically when accessing the shortened URL.
• Store and retrieve data using Prisma ORM and PostgreSQL.
• Optional Redis caching for faster redirects.
• RESTful endpoints for CRUD operations.

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🚀 Commands

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Generate Prisma client
npx prisma generate

# Run database migrations
npx prisma migrate dev --name init

# Start development server
npm run start:dev

# In a new terminal, host a simple python http server
python -m http.server 5500

# Open the Index.html in your browser