The URL Shortener node turns long URLs into short links and manages those links over time. You can shorten a URL, resolve a short code back to its target, update where a code redirects, remove codes, and search your saved mappings. Use it to produce clean links for notifications, messages, or campaigns — and to repoint an existing short link later without changing the URL already in circulation.
Short links are served on a platform domain in the form .../short/<code>, or on your own custom domain if one is configured.
Operations
Shorten URL — Generates a new short code for a long URL and stores the mapping. The short code is derived from the URL using a hash with a random salt, producing a code of configurable length (defaulting to approximately seven characters).
Input
Input Field | Description |
|---|---|
URL | The long URL to shorten. |
Code Length | Optional. The number of characters in the generated short code. Defaults to approximately seven. |
Output
Returns the generated short code and the full short URL. Store the short code if you need to update or resolve the link later.
Note: Short-code generation is non-deterministic — shortening the same URL twice produces two different codes and two independent mappings. If you need a stable short link for a given URL, shorten it once and reuse the code you receive. Do not assume that the same URL always maps to the same code.
Resolve Short Code — Looks up the target URL for a given short code. Use this when an automation needs to know where a code currently points — to validate it, branch on it, or display it — not to redirect an end user.
Input
Input Field | Description |
|---|---|
Short Code | The code portion of the short link to look up. |
Output
Returns the target URL and title associated with the short code.
Note: Resolve Short Code is a lookup, not a redirect. It returns the destination URL so your automation can act on it; it does not issue an HTTP 301 or 302 to send a user to that destination. The browser redirect happens when a user visits the short link through the platform's link-serving layer.
Update Redirect URL — Changes the destination a short code points to without altering the short link itself. Use this to repoint a link that is already in circulation — in an email, a campaign, or a notification — without requiring recipients to use a new URL.
Input
Input Field | Description |
|---|---|
Short Code | The code whose redirect target should be changed. |
New URL | The new destination URL to associate with the code. |
Remove Short Code — Deletes a short code and its mapping. After removal, the short link no longer resolves.
Input
Input Field | Description |
|---|---|
Short Code | The code to remove. |
Search Mappings — Searches your stored short code mappings. Use this to find codes associated with a URL, verify what codes exist, or retrieve a code you did not store from a prior run.
Input
Input Field | Description |
|---|---|
Query | Search terms to filter the stored mappings by URL or code. |
Output
Returns a list of matching short code mappings, each with its code and target URL.
Notes
To make the most of it:
Shorten a URL once and persist the returned code; calling Shorten URL multiple times on the same URL creates multiple independent codes, not a single canonical one.
Use Update Redirect URL when you need to change a destination after a link is already distributed — it keeps the short URL stable while changing where it points.
Links have no built-in expiry and persist until you explicitly remove them. If short-lived links are required, schedule a Remove Short Code step or automate cleanup.
This node does not provide click tracking. If you need analytics on link usage, route traffic through a dedicated link-tracking service before shortening with this node.
When a custom domain is configured for your workspace, short links are served on that domain rather than the default platform domain — verify the domain setting before sharing links externally.