YOURLS Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Deploy YOURLS hosting and run a self-hosted URL shortener on your own domain, with full control of your links and click data. xCloud starts the pinned official image beside a private MariaDB database, generates the administrator password, cookie key and database credentials, mounts persistent volumes and publishes the site over HTTPS. The admin dashboard, API and statistics stay private by default, while short-link redirects stay public.

Deploy your YOURLS

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

What is YOURLS?

YOURLS stands for Your Own URL Shortener. Upstream describes it as a set of PHP scripts that let you run a URL shortener on your server, with full control over your data, detailed stats, analytics, plugins and more, free and open source under the MIT licence. Self-hosted YOURLS is the option for teams that would otherwise rent short links from a hosted service such as Bitly or Rebrandly.

On xCloud the template runs the Docker Official Image for YOURLS 1.10.6 with Apache, beside a private MariaDB 11.4 container, both pinned by digest. Two volumes hold the application files, configuration and plugins, and the database with links, users and click statistics. You name the administrator at install; xCloud generates the password. Before first use you click Install YOURLS at /admin/ to create the tables.

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

Self-hosting YOURLS normally means an Apache and PHP container, a MariaDB database, a domain and a certificate before the first short link exists. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick YOURLS from the OneClick catalog. Choose your domain and an administrator username; xCloud generates the password, cookie key and database credentials.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We start the pinned yourls 1.10.6 Apache image and a private MariaDB 11.4 database, mount the yourls_data and yourls_db volumes, and publish the site over HTTPS on your domain.
Step 03
Install And Shorten A Link
Open /admin/ on your domain and click Install YOURLS to create the tables, then sign in with the generated password, enter a destination URL and create your first short link.

Everything YOURLS Does, On Your Own Server

YOURLS runs in full here: short links, statistics, an API and plugins, with the data in a database you control.

Short Links On Your Domain
Create short links under your own domain, with a keyword you choose or one generated for you, and public redirects that stay available to everyone.
Click Statistics
Open a link's details to see its click statistics, stored in MariaDB beside the links themselves, so there is no second analytics service to run.
Protected Admin Dashboard
The dashboard at /admin/ is private by default, as are the API and statistics pages, and it signs in with the administrator you named at install.
API Access
Create and manage links from scripts through the YOURLS API. The API stays private by default, so only requests with valid credentials succeed.
Plugins And Pages
The whole application directory is a persistent volume, so plugins, custom pages and languages you add survive restarts. Install only trusted, compatible extensions.
Private MariaDB
Links, users, options and statistics live in a MariaDB 11.4 container that has no published port and is reachable only inside the app's network.

Everything You Need To Run Your Short Links 24/7

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

YOURLS 1.10.6 deployed instantly
Official image pinned by digest
Administrator password generated for you
Private MariaDB, 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 YOURLS

Run a custom domain URL shortener
Put a short domain in front of your campaigns, newsletters or product links, so every link carries your brand, and keep the click data in your own database instead of a vendor's dashboard.
Shorten links for print and social
Create compact links for posters, packaging or social posts, then open the link details to see how many people used each one.
Script link creation from your tools
Call the YOURLS API from a deployment script or a CMS workflow so every new page gets a short link automatically, using credentials only you hold.
Keep redirects under your control
Because the server and database are yours, a link keeps working as long as you keep the server and its domain.

YOURLS vs Alternatives

Bitly: If your short links live on Bitly today, YOURLS is the self-hosted route: links, users and click statistics sit in MariaDB on your own Cloud VPS, and the MIT-licensed software has no per-link fee.
Rebrandly: If you pay Rebrandly for branded links, YOURLS lets you run your own domain for short links, with the admin dashboard and API private by default, on a server you manage.
Shlink: Shlink has its own xCloud page. YOURLS's template uses MariaDB, an admin dashboard at /admin/ and a private-by-default API, so compare the two before choosing.
Kutt: Kutt has its own xCloud page. Compare it with YOURLS's plugin-based approach, where plugins, custom pages and languages live on a persistent volume, before choosing.

Ready To Own Your Short Links?

YOURLS on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own your link data. 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.

What does YOURLS stand for?

YOURLS stands for Your Own URL Shortener. Upstream describes it as a set of PHP scripts that let you run a URL shortener on your own server, with full control over your data, detailed stats, analytics and plugins. It is free and open source, and the name is written in capitals.

Does YOURLS need a database?

Yes. YOURLS stores links, users, options and click statistics in a database, and this template provides a private MariaDB 11.4 container on the internal network, off the public internet. xCloud generates the database name, user and passwords, and the data sits on the yourls_db volume.

Can YOURLS use my own domain?

Yes. YOURLS runs on a server you control, so short links use whichever domain you attach during the install, and redirects stay public while the admin area is protected. For a custom domain URL shortener, choose a short domain for the site. The admin dashboard lives at /admin/ on that domain.

Is YOURLS free?

Yes. YOURLS is free software under the MIT licence, and upstream's own words are that you can do whatever you want with it. There is no per-link or per-click fee. On xCloud you pay for the Cloud VPS that runs YOURLS and MariaDB, and for the deployment around them.

Is YOURLS open source?

Yes. The source is public on GitHub under the MIT licence, and this template runs the Docker Official Image for release 1.10.6, so the code is the upstream release. Plugins from the community, such as those listed in Awesome YOURLS, are separate projects, so install only ones you trust.

How much RAM does YOURLS need?

YOURLS's manifest floor is 1024 MB of RAM, a single core and 5 GB of disk, because YOURLS and a MariaDB database share the machine. The 6 GB Cloud VPS sold here sits well above that floor, which leaves room for heavy redirect traffic or other apps beside it.

Can you self-host YOURLS with Docker?

Yes. For YOURLS Docker hosting the template runs the official yourls 1.10.6 Apache image and a private MariaDB 11.4 container, both pinned by digest, with two named volumes. It generates the administrator password, cookie key and database credentials and puts HTTPS on your domain, with no compose file to maintain.

How do I upgrade YOURLS?

The 1.10.6 Apache image keeps its digest until you move it. Copy both volumes, read the release notes, and rehearse the upstream upgrade procedure on a disposable copy first. Then pick a later template version, open /admin/ to finish any database upgrade, and test redirects and the API.

How do I back up YOURLS?

A YOURLS backup covers both volumes as one recovery set: yourls_db holds links, users, options and click statistics, and yourls_data holds the application files, generated config, plugins, pages and languages. Pause writes or take a database-consistent copy, keep it off-server and test a restore first.

Backups in xCloud

Why does the site show a 403 before I install?

The site root can return an Apache 403 until you finish the required first step. Open /admin/ and click Install YOURLS, which creates the database tables and the rewrite rules. After it succeeds, sign in with the generated administrator password. The admin dashboard, API and statistics stay private by default.

Can I run YOURLS in the cloud on xCloud?

Yes. Under YOURLS cloud use, xCloud provisions a dedicated Cloud VPS and starts the shortener and MariaDB on it and attaches your short domain and certificate. If your shortener should live on a server from another provider, attach it as self-managed and deploy the same template there.

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.