Introducing Shortstack: A Simple, Scalable URL Shortener

Hey everyone! 👋

Welcome to the first post on my new blog! Today, I want to introduce you to Shortstack, a URL shortener I built using Node.js, TypeScript, GraphQL, and AWS.

Why I Built Shortstack

I recently gained the AWS CCP (Certified Cloud Practitioner) and wanted to build something fairly simple that I could deploy to AWS to put theory to practice.

Shortstacks selling points:

✅ Is serverless and cost-efficient – Only runs when needed, thanks to AWS Lambda.
✅ Uses modern tech – GraphQL, TypeScript, and DynamoDB for fast lookups.
✅ Has a clean UI – Built with Next.js, Tailwind, and Apollo Client.
✅ Is fully owned and controlled by me – No reliance on third-party services.

How It Works

Here’s a quick breakdown of the architecture:

• Frontend: A Next.js app with a simple UI for entering URLs and getting short links.
• Backend: A Node.js GraphQL API running on AWS Lambda.
• Database: DynamoDB stores the mappings from short URLs to long URLs.
• API Gateway: Secures and routes requests to the Lambda function.
• Custom Domain: I’ve set up a subdomain via CNAME entries for the frontend and AWS ACM with API Gateway for the backend. This gives a more polished experience.
• Security: IAM roles, security groups, and NACLs ensure everything stays locked down.