Instance compliance

Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I built an open-source URL shortener, available at https://www.VanityURLS.link, https://github.com/vanityURLs/code, and https://github.com/vanityURLs/website.

For example, the official demo redirector is at https://vanityurls.link and my personal instance is at dicai.re.

I will copy a zip of both public repositories so you have the context.

The user chooses an available short domain, copies the Git repository locally, runs setup, creates a Worker in their Cloudflare account, and deploys it to the Internet.

It is their instance of the open-source solution, and they are responsible for ethical behavior. Like building a website with Hugo. It is only a tool.

What comes next for v8s.link

Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The next challenge is not the first install. A new v8s instance can already be created quickly.

The harder problem is long-term ownership: how does an instance safely receive upstream improvements to defaults/ and scripts/ while preserving everything in custom/?

The upgrade principle

The project should keep the contract simple:

product-owned files live in defaults/ and scripts/
instance-owned files live in custom/
generated output can be rebuilt
secrets stay in Cloudflare or local secret storage
documentation lives on the website, not duplicated in every instance repo

That contract makes a future upgrade tool possible without requiring a package manager on day one.

Roadmap on vanityURLs

Instance compliance

What comes next for v8s.link

The upgrade principle