Kutt Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Kutt hosting gives you a branded link shortener on infrastructure you control, instead of routing links through someone else's service. Deploy Kutt 3.2.6 as a self-hosted URL shortener: xCloud runs the pinned image with a private PostgreSQL database, generates the database credentials and signing secret, mounts a persistent volume and publishes it over HTTPS, ready for anonymous link creation on day one.

Deploy your Kutt

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is Kutt?

Self-hosted Kutt is a modern URL shortener with support for custom domains. Its README says you can create and edit links, view statistics and manage users, and it was created with self-hosting in mind, supporting several databases. It lists custom URLs, link passwords and expiration times, private statistics, an admin page, optional OpenID Connect login and a RESTful API. It stands in for a hosted link shortener such as Bitly, under the MIT licence.

On xCloud the template runs the kutt/kutt v3.2.6 image beside a private PostgreSQL 17.5 database, both pinned by immutable digest, with a kutt_postgres volume. HTTPS is published on your domain. No admin is pre-created, so claim the first-run admin account at once; registration is off, anonymous link creation is on, no SMTP is configured and Redis is disabled.

From Sign-Up to a Live Kutt Shortener In Just 3 Easy Steps

Self-hosting a link shortener normally means a container, a database, generated secrets, a domain and a certificate before the first link is shortened. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick Kutt from the OneClick catalog. Enter a site title and domain — Kutt has no other app-specific fields to fill in.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the vendor-maintained Kutt 3.2.6 image pinned by immutable digest, provision a private PostgreSQL database, generate unique database credentials and a 64-character JWT signing secret, mount the kutt_postgres volume, and publish only Kutt's web interface over HTTPS on your domain.
Step 03
Shorten Your First Link
Open your HTTPS URL, create the first admin account at /create-admin right away, then shorten a URL you control — anonymous link creation also works immediately. Verify the redirect, then set up a custom alias, an expiration date, and check the QR code and statistics for that link.

Everything Kutt Does, On Your Own Server

Kutt runs in full here — a self-hosted URL shortener, on infrastructure you control.

Custom Aliases
Pick your own slug for a short link instead of a random string, so links stay readable and on-brand.
Link Expiration
Set an expiration on any short link so it stops resolving on a schedule you choose, without deleting it by hand.
QR Codes
Every short link gets a generated QR code, ready to drop into print or in-person materials.
Per-Link Statistics
See visit counts and activity for each link Kutt is tracking, from one dashboard.
Anonymous Link Creation
Anonymous, unauthenticated short-link creation is enabled from first boot, so the service is useful immediately with no account setup.
One Database, Fully Persistent
Links, users, domains, statistics and configuration all live in PostgreSQL on the kutt_postgres volume, which survives a restart intact.

Everything You Need To Run Your Link Shortening 24/7

Managed hosting for Kutt, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

Kutt 3.2.6 deployed instantly
Vendor-maintained pinned image digest
Database credentials and JWT secret generated for you
PostgreSQL private, no public port
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With Kutt

Run branded short links
Create short links with custom aliases on your own domain, so shared URLs are short and recognisable.
Set links to expire
Give links an expiry so campaign or one-off URLs stop working when you want them to.
Track clicks per link
View per-link statistics from the data in your own PostgreSQL database instead of a vendor's dashboard.
Create links from scripts
Use Kutt's API to create links from other tools, once you have set up accounts and keys.

Kutt vs Alternatives

Bitly: Bitly is a hosted link shortener. As a kutt alternative to bitly, Kutt is MIT licensed, and here the links, statistics and database live on your own Cloud VPS.
Shlink: Shlink is a self-hosted URL shortener with its own xCloud template, with redirect rules and an API. In a kutt vs shlink choice, compare the interface and how you want to manage links.
YOURLS: YOURLS is a set of PHP scripts for running a URL shortener, with its own xCloud template. In a kutt vs yourls comparison, Kutt is a Node.js application with a modern interface.
Linkding: Linkding is a self-hosted bookmark manager with its own xCloud template. It saves links for you to read later rather than shortening them for sharing.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for Kutt hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

Heavier link volume, alongside other services on the same box.

$59.99per month

16 GB RAM
6 vCPU cores
200 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Cloud VPS 24 GB

Kutt alongside a whole self-hosted stack.

$84.99per month

24 GB RAM
8 vCPU cores
300 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account. Kutt itself is free under the MIT License.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy Kutt on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

$0forever

1 server
10 sites

Start free

Starter

Professional

The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

6–10 servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Own Your Short Links?

Kutt on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

Hear what people are saying about us

See why agencies, developers, startups, and growing businesses choose xCloud to power their projects.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

How much RAM does Kutt need?

The manifest asks for 1024 MB of RAM, 1 CPU core and 5 GB of disk as a floor. Kutt plus PostgreSQL is lightweight, and the 6 GB Cloud VPS sold on this page leaves ample room for statistics to grow.

Is Kutt free and open source?

Yes. Kutt is MIT licensed, per the LICENSE file at the v3.2.6 tag, so the software costs nothing to license, and xCloud bills the dedicated Cloud VPS, and your links and statistics stay on your own volume.

Can you run Kutt with Docker?

Yes, and this is Kutt Docker hosting prepared for you: the template runs the kutt/kutt v3.2.6 image beside PostgreSQL 17.5, both pinned by immutable digest, with HTTPS on your domain, giving you Kutt cloud hosting on your own VPS.

What is the difference between Kutt and Shlink?

Both are self-hosted URL shorteners. Kutt's README stresses custom domains, statistics and zero-configuration self-hosting, while Shlink has its own xCloud page with redirect rules and an API. Compare them against how you manage links and which database you prefer.

Shlink hosting

Do I need an account to shorten a link with Kutt?

No. Anonymous link creation is enabled from first boot, so you can create and use short links immediately without signing up. That also means anyone who can reach the site can create links, so decide whether that suits your use before sharing the address.

Can anyone create short links on my Kutt server?

Yes, by default, because anonymous link creation is on. Short-link services can be abused to hide the real destination of a link, so consider turning anonymous links off, or restricting access with xCloud Basic Authentication or IP management, if the server is public.

Can I create user accounts in Kutt?

On first visit Kutt prompts for an admin account at /create-admin, and nothing is pre-created, so claim it right away. Public registration is disabled because Kutt verifies new accounts by email and no SMTP is configured; set up SMTP and registration together to open it.

Can I use a custom domain for Kutt short links?

Kutt supports custom domains, but this baseline does not configure them. That needs separate DNS and TLS planning that you handle inside Kutt and at your DNS provider. Generated short links carry the installation's own domain by default.

Is Redis required for Kutt?

No. Redis is optional in Kutt and is intentionally disabled in this template. PostgreSQL is the complete persistence boundary for links, users, domains, statistics and configuration, so there is only one volume to protect and back up.

What should I back up on a Kutt server?

The kutt_postgres volume as one unit, since it holds links, users, domains, statistics and configuration. Quiesce writes for a volume-level backup or use a PostgreSQL dump, keep off-server copies, and test a restore. Keep the generated secrets stable.

Backups in xCloud

How do I upgrade Kutt?

Nothing upgrades it for you: the install stays on pinned release 3.2.6 until you adopt a newer template version. Back up the PostgreSQL volume first, read the upstream release and migration notes, then check a short link still redirects.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.