Developer Docs

Short Links API

Create and retrieve hashb.ink short links programmatically using your HashBack API key. Links redirect instantly and track click counts automatically.

Base URL

https://api.hashback.co.ke

All API requests are HTTPS-only. Pass your API key as the X-API-Key header or as a api_key body field.

Create a Short Link

POST /shortlink/create

Shortens a URL and returns the compact hashb.ink link. Deducts 1 credit per new creation. If the same URL was previously shortened with your key the existing code is returned at no extra cost.

Accepts application/json or application/x-www-form-urlencoded. Rate limit: 10 requests / minute per API key.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
api_key	string	Yes	Your HashBack developer API key
url	string	Yes	The long URL to shorten (must be a valid URL, max 2048 chars)

Example request

curl -X POST https://api.hashback.co.ke/shortlink/create \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \ -d '{ "url": "https://yourwebsite.co.ke/very/long/path?ref=campaign" }'

Success response 200

{ "success": true, "code": "xk3p2f", "short_url": "https://hashb.ink/xk3p2f", "url": "https://yourwebsite.co.ke/very/long/path?ref=campaign" }

Get Link Info

GET /shortlink/info

Returns the original URL and click count for a given short code.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
api_key	string	Yes	Your HashBack developer API key
code	string	Yes	The short code (e.g. `xk3p2f`)

Example request

curl "https://api.hashback.co.ke/shortlink/info?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY&code=xk3p2f"

Success response 200

{ "success": true, "short_code": "xk3p2f", "url": "https://yourwebsite.co.ke/very/long/path?ref=campaign", "clicks": 142 }

Public Short Link Redirect

GET hashb.ink/{code}

No authentication needed. Visiting a short link:

Real visitors — redirected instantly (0ms) to the destination URL
Crawlers & bots (WhatsApp, Slack, Facebook, Twitter) — receive the page with full OG metadata from your Link Branding settings
Click counter is incremented for real visitor hits

OG tags served: og:title, og:description, og:image — populated from your Link Branding settings in the HashBack portal.

Error Codes

HTTP	message	Meaning
400	Missing url parameter	The `url` field was empty or missing
400	Invalid URL	The URL failed validation
400	URL too long	URL exceeds 2048 characters
401	Unauthorized	Missing or invalid API key
402	Insufficient credits	Account has 0 credits remaining
404	Link not found	No short link exists for the given code
429	Rate limit exceeded	Too many requests — max 10/min per API key

Set up Link Branding

Configure your business name, logo, and OG description in the HashBack portal so every short link preview shows your brand on WhatsApp, Slack, and iMessage.

Go to portal →