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88 lines
7 KiB
Markdown
88 lines
7 KiB
Markdown
---
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categories: Self-Hosting
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date: "2021-08-20T00:00:00Z"
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lastmod: 2022-02-03
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usePageBundles: true
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tags:
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- gcp
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- cloud
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- serverless
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title: Free serverless URL shortener on Google Cloud Run
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---
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### Intro
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I've been using [short.io](https://short.io) with a custom domain 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).
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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:
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### Shortcut mapping
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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.
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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.
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### Create a new GCP project
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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.
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### Deploy to GCP
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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.
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The script prompted me to select a project and a region, and then asked for the Sheet ID that I copied earlier.
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### Grant access to the Sheet
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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`.
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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.
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### Quick test
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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:
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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):
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Hmm, not quite. Luckily the error tells me exactly what I need to do...
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### Enable Sheets API
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I just needed to visit `https://console.developers.google.com/apis/api/sheets.googleapis.com/overview?project=############` to enable the Google Sheets API.
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Once that's done, I can try my redirect again - and, after a brief moment, it successfully sends me on to Polywork!
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### Link custom domain
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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-somestring-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**.
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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.
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The wizard then tells me exactly what record I need to create/update with my domain host:
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It took a while for the domain mapping to go live once I've updated the record.
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### Final tests
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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:
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### Outro
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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.
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And now I can hand out handy-dandy short links!
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| Link | Description |
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|---------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
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| [go.bowdre.net/coso](https://l.runtimeterror.dev/coso) | Follow me on CounterSocial |
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| [go.bowdre.net/conedoge](https://l.runtimeterror.dev/conedoge) | 2014 Subaru BRZ autocross videos |
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| [go.bowdre.net/cooltechshit](https://l.runtimeterror.dev/cooltechshit) | A collection of cool tech shit (references and resources) |
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| [go.bowdre.net/stuffiuse](https://l.runtimeterror.dev/stuffiuse) | Things that I use (and think you should use too) |
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| [go.bowdre.net/shorterer](https://l.runtimeterror.dev/shorterer) | This post! |
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