BZOD combines URL shortening, landing pages, QR code generation, password-protected links, smart preview pages, analytics, audit logging, lifecycle management, backup/restore, and API automation into a single self-hosted application with zero external service dependencies.

Built with Rust, SQLite, Axum, and Askama, BZOD is designed for individuals, organizations, homelab operators, government agencies, and businesses that want complete ownership of their links, analytics, and branding.

Highlights

v0.3.0

Human-readable custom slugs
Root landing page support
Landing page custom slugs
UTM campaign builder
Built-in backup and restore
CLI shorten command
CLI expand command
QR code generation (PNG/SVG)
Password-protected links
Smart preview pages
Analytics dashboard
Audit logging
Health monitoring

Feature Matrix

Feature	Status
URL Shortening	✅
Custom Slugs	✅
Landing Pages	✅
Landing Page Custom Slugs	✅
QR Code Generation	✅
QR Analytics	✅
Password-Protected Links	✅
Smart Preview Pages	✅
Link Expiration	✅
One/Multi-Time Links	✅
Audit Trail	✅
Analytics Dashboard	✅
Health Monitoring	✅
REST API	✅
Backup & Restore	✅
UTM Campaign Builder	✅
CLI Automation	✅
Geo Analytics	🚧
Multi-User Administration	🚧
SSO	🚧

Features

URL Shortening

Create compact short URLs using automatically generated hexadecimal identifiers.

Example:

https://your-domain/1bb170

Design Principles

BZOD is intentionally designed around a few principles:

Self-hosted first
SQLite-first architecture
Minimal operational complexity
Recovery over convenience
Human-readable administration
No external service dependencies
No vendor lock-in

Features are added only when they improve usability without increasing architectural complexity.

Custom Slugs

Create memorable human-readable links.

Examples:

https://your-domain/!office
https://your-domain/!home
https://your-domain/!site
https://your-domain/!project-alpha

Features:

Case-insensitive uniqueness
Lowercase normalization
Human-readable URLs
No database schema changes
Fully compatible with existing short codes

Examples:

!office
!home
!warehouse
!meeting-room
!client_a

Practical Examples

Generated URL

https://bzo.in/1b926e

Custom Slug

https://bzo.in/!office

Landing Page

https://bzo.in/p/!company-profile

CLI

bzod shorten https://example.com
bzod shorten https://example.com --slug !office
bzod expand !office

Landing Pages

Create standalone landing pages hosted directly by BZOD.

Generated page:

https://your-domain/p/1a2b

Custom slug page:

https://your-domain/p/!company-profile
https://your-domain/p/!product-launch

Features:

Raw HTML support
SEO slug support
Published / Draft states
Custom paths
Open Graph metadata

CLI Commands

Core commands

bzod serve
bzod create-admin
bzod doctor
bzod stats

URL management

bzod shorten https://example.com
bzod shorten https://example.com --slug !campaign
bzod expand 1bb170
bzod expand !campaign

Maintenance

bzod backup
bzod restore --file backup_20250614.tar.gz
bzod migrate

QR Code Generation

Generate QR codes for every short URL.

Supported formats:

Features:

Downloadable QR assets
QR scan analytics
Bulk QR export
Print-friendly SVG output

Password-Protected Links

Protect sensitive links using Argon2id password hashing.

Features:

Password gate
Secure session handling
Access restrictions
Audit logging

Smart Preview Pages

Display branded preview pages before redirecting visitors.

Features:

Custom title
Description
Logo support
Open Graph metadata
Social sharing previews

Link Lifecycle Management

Control link validity.

Features:

Expiration dates
One-time links
Access limits
Administrative disable
Automated expiry jobs

UTM Campaign Builder

Append campaign tracking parameters when creating links.

Supported parameters:

utm_source
utm_medium
utm_campaign

Example output:

https://example.com/page?utm_source=email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=launch

No additional database schema changes are required.

Analytics

Track:

Total visits
QR scans
Countries
Referrers
User agents
Daily statistics
Monthly statistics
Yearly statistics

Audit Trail

Track administrative activity.

Recorded events include:

Login
Logout
URL creation
URL updates
URL deletion
Backup creation
Restore operations
QR exports
Configuration changes

Administrative Dashboard

Web-based management interface.

Features:

URL registry
Landing pages
QR management
Analytics
API token management
Audit logs
Backup utilities
Restore utilities
Health monitoring
Server diagnostics

REST API

REST API support for automation and integrations.

Endpoint prefix:

/api/v1/*

Supports:

URL creation
URL management
Landing pages
QR generation
Analytics access

CLI Automation

Create and manage links directly from the command line.

Examples:

Create automatic code:

bzod shorten https://example.com

Create custom slug:

bzod shorten https://example.com --slug !office

Expand code:

bzod expand 1bb170

Expand custom slug:

bzod expand !office

Backup & Restore

BZOD includes integrated backup and restore functionality through both the CLI and Web UI.

CLI:

bzod backup
bzod restore --file backup.tar.gz

Web UI:

Settings → Maintenance & DB Utilities

Features:

Compressed tar.gz backups
Full database restoration
Backup validation
Disaster recovery support
No external tools required

Protected databases:

admin.db
content.db
analytics.db
system.db

Security

Password-protected administration
Password-protected links
Argon2id password hashing
CSRF protection
Session management
API token authentication
Audit logging
Access controls

Self-Hosted

No external services required.

Dependencies:

Rust
SQLite
Docker (optional)

No:

React
Node.js
Redis
PostgreSQL
MongoDB
Kubernetes
SaaS dependencies

Architecture

Databases

BZOD uses four SQLite databases.

Database	Purpose
admin.db	Users, sessions, API keys
content.db	URLs, landing pages, metadata
analytics.db	Visits, QR scans, statistics
system.db	Audit events, jobs, monitoring

Initial Setup

Native Installation

cargo run -- create-admin

Docker

docker exec -it bzod bzod create-admin

Disaster Recovery Validation

The backup and restore system has been validated through a complete recovery workflow.

Validation procedure:

Create backup archive
Stop application
Restore backup
Restart application
Verify application integrity

Verified components:

URL registry
Landing pages
Analytics
Audit logs
API tokens
QR assets
Settings
Health monitoring

Expected outcome:

The application returns to a fully operational state without data loss.

Screenshots

Dashboard

URL Management

Landing Pages

Settings

Server Status

Docker Deployment

Build:

docker compose build

Start:

docker compose up -d

Logs:

docker logs -f bzod

Docker Compose Example

services:
  bzod:
    build: .
    container_name: bzod
    restart: unless-stopped

    ports:
      - "8654:8654"

    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
      - ./config:/app/config

    environment:
      HOST: 0.0.0.0
      PORT: 8654
      DATA_DIR: /app/data

Development

Build:

cargo build

Run:

cargo run -- serve

Create administrator:

cargo run -- create-admin

Run tests:

cargo test

Development & Testing

See:

docs/TESTING.md

for testing, validation, backup, restore, disaster recovery, and release procedures.

Project Structure

src/
├── analytics/
├── auth/
├── charts/
├── cli/
├── db/
├── jobs/
├── models/
├── services/
├── templates/
├── utils/
└── web/

Roadmap

Planned features:

Geo analytics
Multi-user administration
SSO integration
Signed temporary links
OpenAPI documentation

Production Deployment

Recommended architecture:

Internet
    │
    ▼
Nginx Proxy Manager
    │
    ▼
BZOD
    │
    ▼
SQLite

HTTPS is strongly recommended.

License

Apache License 2.0

Author

Sunil Purushottam Thakare

Built with Rust, SQLite, Axum, Askama, and a preference for simple, maintainable software.