Local helper
The local helper is the v8s terminal command. It lets you open a known short link directly from your terminal instead of switching to a browser first, typing the short domain, and waiting for the redirect. For day-to-day work, that makes repeat links faster to reach.
The helper is deliberately read-only. It reads a generated registry such as build/v8s.json or ~/.v8s.json, opens exact slugs that already exist, and refuses targets that are not web URLs. It does not create, edit, commit, or push links. It only opens permanent and ephemeral links with http:// or https:// targets after validating the slug input.
The helper is separate from the CLI. Use ./scripts/lnk when you want to change the instance: the lnk CLI edits source files in custom/, commits, and pushes. Use v8s when you want a fast local shortcut to an existing redirect.
Requirements
- A configured vanityURLs repository available locally
- Node.js 20 or newer
- npm
- Git
jq- A POSIX-compatible shell that can source
scripts/v8s.sh, such assh, Bash, or Zsh
Shells with different scripting models, such as Fish or PowerShell, can still run the project commands, but they cannot source scripts/v8s.sh directly without a compatibility layer.
Install helper
Run the workstation setup command from your vanityURLs repository:
npm run local-install
The command checks for jq, installs the POSIX-compatible helper from scripts/v8s.sh when requested, copies scripts/lnk to the configured local bin path, and records paths in custom/v8s-local-config.json.
Configure registry
npm run local-install writes workstation-specific helper settings to custom/v8s-local-config.json. That file stores the helper install path, shell rc file, local registry path, repository path, and lnk install path. It is separate from custom/v8s-site-config.json, which stores public instance settings used by the website and Worker.
The helper reads the configured local registry path, usually ~/.v8s.json. npm run build writes build/v8s.json and copies it to the configured local registry only when local config enables the helper.
If you keep the registry somewhere else, set V8S_REGISTRY before sourcing or using the helper:
export V8S_REGISTRY=/path/to/YOUR-SHORT-DOMAIN/build/v8s.json
source /path/to/YOUR-SHORT-DOMAIN/scripts/v8s.sh
Use helper
| Command | Behavior |
|---|---|
v8s --list | Lists active permanent and ephemeral slugs from the registry |
v8s slug | Opens the target for the exact slug value |
v8s --print slug | Prints the target without opening it |
v8s --path | Prints the registry path currently in use |