What is YOURLS used for?

YOURLS is a self-hosted PHP URL shortener that gives you your own short links, click statistics, analytics and a plugin system. It is a good fit for branded short links on your own domain and tracking campaign link clicks privately.

Is YOURLS open source?

Yes. YOURLS is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at YOURLS/YOURLS and is written mainly in PHP.

Yes. YOURLS is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host YOURLS?

Yes. YOURLS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What is YOURLS an alternative to?

YOURLS is an open-source alternative to Bitly, Rebrandly and Short.io. Other open-source alternatives to Bitly include Shlink, Polr and Dub.

Is YOURLS actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to YOURLS was on 29 September 2026, and the latest release is 1.10.6, published on 30 August 2026. The project has 12k stars on GitHub.

YOURLS: open-source alternative to Bitly, Rebrandly

About YOURLS

YOURLS, short for Your Own URL Shortener, is a set of PHP scripts that lets you run a link shortening service on your own server. Because you host it yourself, you keep full control over the data rather than depending on a third-party shortener, and you can serve short links from your own domain.

The software provides detailed statistics and analytics for each link, and a plugin system lets the community extend it. Beginners and experts alike are pointed to the documentation at docs.yourls.org, an official blog, an Awesome YOURLS list of plugins and tools, and community discussions on GitHub. Support from backers and sponsors is handled through Open Collective.

YOURLS is written in PHP and released under the MIT license. It is free and open source, and contributors are asked to search existing issues and read the contributing guidelines before opening a new one. It is a good fit for marketing teams and developers who want branded short links without sending click data elsewhere.

Key features

Self-hosted URL shortening service
Detailed click statistics and analytics
Plugin system for extensions
Full control over your link data
Simple PHP installation

Good fit for

→Branded short links on your own domain
→Tracking campaign link clicks privately

Built with: PHP
Tags: url-shortener; php; self-hosted; analytics; short-links; marketing; plugins

YOURLS: questions and answers

What is YOURLS used for?: YOURLS is a self-hosted PHP URL shortener that gives you your own short links, click statistics, analytics and a plugin system. It is a good fit for branded short links on your own domain and tracking campaign link clicks privately.
Is YOURLS open source?: Yes. YOURLS is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at YOURLS/YOURLS and is written mainly in PHP.
Is YOURLS free?: Yes. YOURLS is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host YOURLS?: Yes. YOURLS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is YOURLS an alternative to?: YOURLS is an open-source alternative to Bitly, Rebrandly and Short.io. Other open-source alternatives to Bitly include Shlink, Polr and Dub.
Is YOURLS actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to YOURLS was on 29 September 2026, and the latest release is 1.10.6, published on 30 August 2026. The project has 12k stars on GitHub.