Code examples for creating a link

Prerequisites

A Rebrandly account with an API key. Generate one in Settings > API keys.

Create a link

The examples below create a branded short link using POST /v1/links. Each example omits domain (so Rebrandly uses your account's default domain) and omits slashtag (so Rebrandly generates one randomly).

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your API key. To use your own branded domain, see Branded domains.

curl -X POST \
  https://api.rebrandly.com/v1/links \
  -H 'apikey: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "destination": "https://www.brandyour.link",
    "title": "My first branded link"
  }'

// Requires Node 18+
async function main() {
  const response = await fetch('https://api.rebrandly.com/v1/links', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      'apikey': 'YOUR_API_KEY'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      destination: 'https://www.brandyour.link',
      title: 'My first branded link'
    })
  });

  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error(`API error: ${response.status}`);
  }

  const link = await response.json();
  console.log(`Short URL: https://${link.shortUrl}`);
}

main().catch(console.error);

import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://api.rebrandly.com/v1/links',
    headers={
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        'apikey': 'YOUR_API_KEY'
    },
    json={
        'destination': 'https://www.brandyour.link',
        'title': 'My first branded link'
    }
)

response.raise_for_status()
link = response.json()
print(f"Short URL: https://{link['shortUrl']}")

<?php
$context = stream_context_create([
  'http' => [
    'method' => 'POST',
    'header' => implode("\r\n", [
      'Content-Type: application/json',
      'apikey: YOUR_API_KEY'
    ]),
    'content' => json_encode([
      'destination' => 'https://www.brandyour.link',
      'title' => 'My first branded link'
    ]),
    'ignore_errors' => true
  ]
]);

$response = file_get_contents('https://api.rebrandly.com/v1/links', false, $context);

if ($response === false) {
  throw new RuntimeException('Request failed: ' . error_get_last()['message']);
}

$link = json_decode($response, true);
if (json_last_error() !== JSON_ERROR_NONE) {
  throw new RuntimeException('JSON decode error: ' . json_last_error_msg() . ' — response: ' . $response);
}
if (!is_array($link) || !isset($link['shortUrl'])) {
  throw new RuntimeException('API error: ' . json_encode($link));
}
echo "Short URL: https://{$link['shortUrl']}";
?>

using System;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Text;
using System.Text.Json;

var payload = JsonSerializer.Serialize(new {
    destination = "https://www.brandyour.link",
    title = "My first branded link"
});

using var client = new HttpClient();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("apikey", "YOUR_API_KEY");

var response = await client.PostAsync(
    "https://api.rebrandly.com/v1/links",
    new StringContent(payload, Encoding.UTF8, "application/json")
);

response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();

var link = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<JsonElement>(
    await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync()
);

Console.WriteLine($"Short URL: https://{link.GetProperty("shortUrl").GetString()}");

A successful response returns the created link object:

{
  "id": "m5jk4cc5bjop45d6",
  "title": "My first branded link",
  "slashtag": "abc123",
  "destination": "https://www.brandyour.link",
  "shortUrl": "rebrand.ly/abc123",
  "domain": {
    "id": "8f104cc5b6ee4a4ba7897b06ac2ddcfb",
    "fullName": "rebrand.ly"
  },
  "createdAt": "2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"
}

For the full parameter reference, see Creating a new link.