title: Free serverless URL shortener on Google Cloud Run
---
### Intro
I've been [using short.io with a custom domain](https://twitter.com/johndotbowdre/status/1370125198196887556) to keep track of and share messy links for a few months now. That approach has worked very well, but it's also seriously overkill for my needs. I don't need (nor want) tracking metrics to know anything about when those links get clicked, and short.io doesn't provide an easy way to turn that off. I was casually looking for a lighter self-hosted alternative today when I stumbled upon a *serverless* alternative: **[sheets-url-shortener](https://github.com/ahmetb/sheets-url-shortener)**. This uses [Google Cloud Run](https://cloud.google.com/run/) to run an ultralight application container which receives an incoming web request, looks for the path in a Google Sheet, and redirects the client to the appropriate URL. It supports connecting with a custom domain, and should run happily within the [Cloud Run Free Tier limits](https://cloud.google.com/run/pricing).
The Github instructions were pretty straight-forward but I did have to fumble through a few additional steps to get everything up and running. Here we go:
### Shortcut mapping
Since the setup uses a simple Google Sheets document to map the shortcuts to the original long-form URLs, I started by going to [https://sheets.new](https://sheets.new) to create a new Sheet. I then just copied in the shortcuts and URLs I was already using in short.io. By the way, I learned on a previous attempt that this solution only works with lowercase shortcuts so I made sure to convert my `MixedCase` ones as I went.
I then made a note of the Sheet ID from the URL; that's the bit that looks like `1SMeoyesCaGHRlYdGj9VyqD-qhXtab1jrcgHZ0irvNDs`. That will be needed later on.
### Create a new GCP project
I created a new project in my GCP account by going to [https://console.cloud.google.com/projectcreate](https://console.cloud.google.com/projectcreate) and entering a descriptive name.
### Deploy to GCP
At this point, I was ready to actually kick off the deployment. Ahmet made this part exceptionally easy: just hit the **Run on Google Cloud** button from the [Github project page](https://github.com/ahmetb/sheets-url-shortener#setup). That opens up a Google Cloud Shell instance which prompts for authorization before it starts the deployment script.
In order for the Cloud Run service to be able to see the URL mappings in the Sheet I needed to share the Sheet with the service account. That service account is found by going to [https://console.cloud.google.com/run](https://console.cloud.google.com/run), clicking on the new `sheets-url-shortener` service, and then viewing the **Permissions** tab. I'm interested in the one that's `############-computer@developer.gserviceaccount.com`.
I then went back to the Sheet, hit the big **Share** button at the top, and shared the Sheet to the service account with *Viewer* access.
### Quick test
Back in GCP land, the details page for the `sheets-url-shortener` Cloud Run service shows a gross-looking URL near the top: `https://sheets-url-shortener-vrw7x6wdzq-uc.a.run.app`. That doesn't do much for *shortening* my links, but it'll do just fine for a quick test. First, I pointed my browser straight to that listed URL:
This at least tells me that the web server portion is working. Now to see if I can redirect to my [project car posts on Polywork](https://john.bowdre.net/?badges%5B%5D=Car+Nerd):
Hmm, not quite. Luckily the error tells me exactly what I need to do...
### Enable Sheets API
I just needed to visit `https://console.developers.google.com/apis/api/sheets.googleapis.com/overview?project=############` to enable the Google Sheets API.
The whole point of this project is to *shorten* URLs, but I haven't done that yet. I'll want to link in my `go.bowdre.net` domain to use that in place of the rather unwieldy `https://sheets-url-shortener-vrw7x6wdzq-uc.a.run.app`. I do that by going back to the [Cloud Run console](https://console.cloud.google.com/run) and selecting the option at the top to **Manage Custom Domains**.
I can then use the **Add Mapping** button, select my `sheets-url-shortener` service, choose one of my verified domains (which I *think* are already verified since they're registered through Google Domains with the same account), and then specify the desired subdomain.
The wizard then tells me exactly what record I need to create/update with my domain host:
It took a while for the domain mapping to go live once I've updated the record.
Once it did finally update, I was able to hit `https://go.bowdre.net` to get the error/landing page, complete with a valid SSL cert:
And testing [go.bowdre.net/ghia](https://go.bowdre.net/ghia) works as well!
### Outro
I'm very pleased with how this quick little project turned out. Managing my shortened links with a Google Sheet is quite convenient, and I really like the complete lack of tracking or analytics. Plus I'm a sucker for an excuse to use a cloud technology I haven't played a lot with yet.
