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Overview

The Link model represents shortened URLs in LaraCMS’s URL shortener feature. Each link belongs to a user and tracks URL redirects for analytics and marketing purposes. Namespace: App\Models\Link File: app/Models/Link.php:7

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Properties

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Mass assignment

This model uses $guarded = [], meaning all attributes are mass-assignable. Based on the migration schema, the model likely contains:
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user_id
integer
required
The ID of the user who created the link
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slug
string
required
The short URL slug (e.g., “abc123”)
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url
string
required
The original full URL to redirect to
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clicks
integer
default:"0"
Number of times the link has been clicked

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Relationships

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user()

Belongs to relationship with the User model. Returns: BelongsTo<User> 
// Get the user who created a link
$link = Link::find(1);
$creator = $link->user;

// Get all links created by a user
$user = User::find(1);
$userLinks = $user->links;

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Usage examples

use Illuminate\Support\Str;

$link = Link::create([
    'user_id' => auth()->id(),
    'slug' => Str::random(6),
    'url' => 'https://example.com/very/long/url',
    'clicks' => 0
]);

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Tracking clicks

$link = Link::where('slug', 'abc123')->firstOrFail();
$link->increment('clicks');

// Redirect to original URL
return redirect($link->url);

// Get user's most clicked links
$topLinks = Link::where('user_id', auth()->id())
    ->orderBy('clicks', 'desc')
    ->take(10)
    ->get();

// Get recent links
$recentLinks = Link::with('user')
    ->latest()
    ->paginate(20);

// Check if slug exists
$slugExists = Link::where('slug', 'abc123')->exists();

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Generating unique slugs

function generateUniqueSlug($length = 6) {
    do {
        $slug = Str::random($length);
    } while (Link::where('slug', $slug)->exists());
    
    return $slug;
}

$link = Link::create([
    'user_id' => auth()->id(),
    'slug' => generateUniqueSlug(),
    'url' => $request->url
]);

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Database schema

Based on the migration file 2025_09_06_175723_create_links_table.php, the links table contains:
  • id - Primary key
  • user_id - Foreign key to users table
  • slug - Short URL identifier (string, unique)
  • url - Original URL (text)
  • clicks - Click counter (integer, default 0)
  • created_at - Timestamp
  • updated_at - Timestamp

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URL shortener feature

The Link model is used by the admin URL shortener tool at /admin/url-shortener. See the URL tools documentation for more details on the user interface.

User model

View User model documentation

URL tools

Learn about URL shortener admin interface

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