Resources · Make integration

YOURLS Make integrationAutomate YOURLS with Make.

What if every new link got its short version without anyone opening YOURLS? The YOURLS Make integration gives you 6 action modules to shorten, expand and measure links. This guide is for marketers and ops people: connect the account, then build a first scenario that runs alone.

Try the YOURLS integration on MakeSee the 6 modules

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What you can automate

What can the YOURLS Make integration do for you?

The YOURLS Make integration links your YOURLS link shortener to Make, a visual tool where you chain apps without code. You build a scenario (the automation itself), made of modules (one brick each: a trigger, an action, a search). YOURLS brings 6 action modules, so the starting signal comes from another app or from a schedule.

Short links that appear on their own. A new product page, a webinar registration link, a post in your content calendar: whatever app holds the long URL can hand it to Shorten an URL, and the short version flows into the next step of the scenario.

A stats report nobody has to compile. Get an URL Statistics pulls the numbers of one short link, and Get a Database Statistics gives the view across your whole YOURLS install. Drop both into a spreadsheet row and the campaign review writes itself.

A safety check before a link goes out. Expand an URL tells you where a short link really leads, handy before you reuse a short link from an old campaign that nobody remembers.

Two honest limits. YOURLS has no trigger in Make, so it never starts a scenario by itself. And Make's own documentation for YOURLS is marked as limited, so for anything beyond the six modules, Make an API Call is your way in. If you are still weighing tools, the n8n vs Make comparison and the YOURLS n8n integration page cover the other side, and the Make review covers the platform itself.

Connect

How do you connect YOURLS to Make?

  1. 01

    Add a YOURLS module

    Inside a scenario, click the + and search for YOURLS. Pick any of its modules, for example Shorten an URL, then click Create a connection. A connection is your YOURLS account linked to Make once and reused by every YOURLS module.

  2. 02

    Name the connection

    This step is optional, yet worth it. A clear name like "YOURLS marketing links" saves you from guessing later, especially if a colleague builds scenarios on the same Make account.

  3. 03

    Authorize and save

    Follow what the window asks: either approve Make on the YOURLS side, or paste the key your YOURLS setup gives you. Then click Save. The module is now ready to use your account.

First scenario

Your first scenario: shorten every new link automatically

GoalWhen a new long URL shows up in another app, Make creates its short YOURLS version.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    Open the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the + in the middle of the canvas. That empty circle is where your first module goes.

  2. 02

    Pick the starting app

    YOURLS has no trigger, so choose the app where your long URLs live, a form, a spreadsheet or a CMS, and pick its trigger module. Connect that account the same way as YOURLS.

  3. 03

    Add Shorten an URL

    Click the + on the right of the first module, search YOURLS and pick Shorten an URL. In its URL field, map the long link coming from the first module instead of typing it.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once. Make executes the scenario one time and shows each bundle, meaning each item passed from one module to the next. Check that a short link came back.

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch on

    Set the schedule on the first module (every 15 minutes by default) and switch the scenario on. From there, each new link gets its short version without you.

Modules

What each YOURLS module does

YOURLS gives you 6 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

YOURLS2

Get a Database Statistics

Action

In Make“Retrieves a statistics information for a database.”

Rather than looking at one link, this module returns the statistics of your whole YOURLS database in a single bundle. Think of it as the dashboard summary, fetched by Make instead of by you.

When to use it
a management report or a team recap that needs the global picture of your link activity, not the detail per campaign.
Watch out
Make's doc does not list which figures come back, so run it once and read the output before mapping anything.
YOURLS3

Get an App Version

Action

In Make“Returns a version of the current app installed.”

This one asks YOURLS which version is currently installed and returns the answer. Small module, but it tells you straight away whether Make can talk to your install at all.

When to use it
right after creating the connection, as a harmless first test, or in a maintenance scenario that records the version after you update YOURLS.
Watch out
each run still uses an operation, so keep it out of scenarios that process many bundles, where it would repeat the same answer.
YOURLS4

Get an URL Statistics

Action

In Make“Retrieves a statistics information for a shortened URL.”

Point it at one short link and it brings back the statistics YOURLS keeps for that link. Where Get a Database Statistics sums everything, this module zooms in on a single campaign or post.

When to use it
after a newsletter goes out, to write the numbers of its tracked link into the row that describes the campaign in your spreadsheet.
Watch out
the short link must exist in your YOURLS install; test with Run once on a real link first.
YOURLS5

Make an API Call

Action

In Make“Performs an arbitrary authorized API call.”

Your escape hatch. This module calls any endpoint of the YOURLS API with the connection you already set up, so you are not stuck when the five ready-made modules stop short of your need.

When to use it
an action exists in the YOURLS API but has no module in Make, which matters more here because Make's YOURLS documentation is limited.
Watch out
you write the request yourself, so keep the YOURLS API reference open next to the module.
Need help

Need help automating YOURLS with Make?

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FAQ

YOURLS and Make: the questions that come next

01Is the YOURLS Make integration free?
Yes. YOURLS is a standard app in Make, available from the Free plan. That plan gives you 2 active scenarios, a minimum of 15 minutes between two scheduled runs, up to 5 minutes per execution, files up to 5 MB and 512 MB of data transfer. Paid plans (Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise) lower the interval to 1 minute, remove the cap on active scenarios and allow 40 minutes per execution. Usage is counted in operations, one per module per bundle, so each shortened link costs one.
02What do you need to connect YOURLS to Make?
A YOURLS account you can manage and a Make account. Make's documentation for YOURLS is marked as limited and lists no prerequisites, so the connection follows Make's usual path: add a YOURLS module, click Create a connection, give it a name if you want, then either authorize Make or paste the key your YOURLS setup provides, and click Save. The same connection then serves all 6 modules, including Make an API Call.
03Does the YOURLS Make integration react in real time?
Not by itself, because YOURLS has no trigger module in Make, only 6 actions. You start the scenario another way. Either a trigger from another app opens the flow, and if that trigger is instant, the other app calls Make through a webhook as soon as something happens. Or you run the scenario on a schedule, every 15 minutes by default, down to 1 minute on paid plans. In both cases the YOURLS modules come second.
04What if a YOURLS action is missing in Make?
Use Make an API Call. This module reaches any endpoint of the YOURLS API with the connection you already created, so an operation that has no dedicated module is still possible. It is worth knowing early here, since Make flags its YOURLS documentation as limited and the catalog stops at 6 modules. You write the request yourself, so keep the YOURLS API reference close while you set it up, and test the call with Run once before switching the scenario on.
05Make or n8n for a YOURLS integration?
It depends on where the rest of your automations live. Make offers 6 YOURLS modules, including Make an API Call, and builds everything visually from its editor. YOURLS also exists as an n8n node, with its own guide on this site. Neither choice locks you out of YOURLS, so pick the tool your team already uses for its other scenarios, and keep all your link workflows in one place so they are easier to maintain.
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