Ability to shorten URLs #4306

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OVERLORD · 2026-02-05T08:29:56+03:00

OVERLORD commented

2026-02-05 08:29:56 +03:00

Originally created by @mw-christensen on GitHub (Nov 8, 2023).

Describe the feature you'd like

I would like the ability to create and specify a shortened URL (similar to what bit.ly does).

Describe the benefits this would bring to existing BookStack users

In instances where you need to have a URL listed on a printed page like a flier or printed documentation, it would be nice if you could specify a shortened URL so that people could easily type in the URL using their keyboard.

An example of this would be:
Original: myfunclub.com/events/2023/halloween/Come_join_us_for_our_fun_halloween_party
Shortened: myfunclub.com/2023halloween

The shortened URL would just be a redirect to the original longer URL.

Can the goal of this request already be achieved via other means?

Possibly? You could have a main landing page with a simple name and put all other links on that page I suppose?

Have you searched for an existing open/closed issue?

I have searched for existing issues and none cover my fundamental request

How long have you been using BookStack?

1 to 5 years

Additional context

Thanks! Bookstack is amazing!

Originally created by @mw-christensen on GitHub (Nov 8, 2023). ### Describe the feature you'd like I would like the ability to create and specify a shortened URL (similar to what bit.ly does). ### Describe the benefits this would bring to existing BookStack users In instances where you need to have a URL listed on a printed page like a flier or printed documentation, it would be nice if you could specify a shortened URL so that people could easily type in the URL using their keyboard. An example of this would be: Original: myfunclub.com/events/2023/halloween/Come_join_us_for_our_fun_halloween_party Shortened: myfunclub.com/2023halloween The shortened URL would just be a redirect to the original longer URL. ### Can the goal of this request already be achieved via other means? Possibly? You could have a main landing page with a simple name and put all other links on that page I suppose? ### Have you searched for an existing open/closed issue? - [X] I have searched for existing issues and none cover my fundamental request ### How long have you been using BookStack? 1 to 5 years ### Additional context Thanks! Bookstack is amazing!

OVERLORD added the 🔨 Feature Request label 2026-02-05 08:29:56 +03:00

OVERLORD closed this issue

2026-02-05 08:29:57 +03:00

OVERLORD commented

2026-02-05 08:30:07 +03:00

@ssddanbrown commented on GitHub (Nov 9, 2023):

Hi @mw-christensen, thanks for the request.

Can the goal of this request already be achieved via other means?
Possibly? You could have a main landing page with a simple name and put all other links on that page I suppose?

To add some additional options:

You can use the existing page permalinks (Applies to pages only).
- To get the permalink, select the text of some page content, when viewing a page. You'll see a popup providing a link to that specific block. Remove everything after the # to generally link to that page, and shorten the link.
You could set-up redirects via your webserver (Match on URL, redirect to desired path).
You could use a separate external service like described.
- A range of self-hostable options can be seen here.
You could add redirects via our logical theme system.

With that last option, you could do something a bit smarter and dynamic, like redirect based on the URL matching certain tags. If you'd like an example of this, let me know although the logic would be considered unofficial/unsupported, but it might make a good addition to our hacks site.

Otherwise, while we could add in-built redirect management, I'm not too sure it'd be worthwhile maintaining that as a specific feature due the little demand of such a feature so far, and the existence of a range of alternative options.

@ssddanbrown commented on GitHub (Nov 9, 2023): Hi @mw-christensen, thanks for the request. > Can the goal of this request already be achieved via other means? > Possibly? You could have a main landing page with a simple name and put all other links on that page I suppose? To add some additional options: - You can use the existing page permalinks (Applies to pages only). - To get the permalink, select the text of some page content, when viewing a page. You'll see a popup providing a link to that specific block. Remove everything after the `#` to generally link to that page, and shorten the link. - You could set-up redirects via your webserver (Match on URL, redirect to desired path). - You could use a separate external service like described. - A range of self-hostable options [can be seen here](https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted#url-shorteners). - You could add redirects via our [logical theme system](https://github.com/BookStackApp/BookStack/blob/development/dev/docs/logical-theme-system.md). With that last option, you could do something a bit smarter and dynamic, like redirect based on the URL matching certain tags. If you'd like an example of this, let me know although the logic would be considered unofficial/unsupported, but it might make a good addition [to our hacks site](https://www.bookstackapp.com/hacks/). Otherwise, while we could add in-built redirect management, I'm not too sure it'd be worthwhile maintaining that as a specific feature due the little demand of such a feature so far, and the existence of a range of alternative options.

OVERLORD commented

2026-02-05 08:30:11 +03:00

@mw-christensen commented on GitHub (Nov 9, 2023):

Thanks Dan for your response. I didn't know how to get a page permalink. I think that is probably the easiest and most logical workaround for what I am looking for. Thanks so much for pointing that out.

While I still think custom URLs would be nice, I think this workaround is totally sufficient to provide a link for printable media. Thanks so much!

@mw-christensen commented on GitHub (Nov 9, 2023): Thanks Dan for your response. I didn't know how to get a page permalink. I think that is probably the easiest and most logical workaround for what I am looking for. Thanks so much for pointing that out. While I still think custom URLs would be nice, I think this workaround is totally sufficient to provide a link for printable media. Thanks so much!

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Reference: starred/BookStack#4306