API Documentation

Use the QRW API to create short links programmatically from your own applications.

Base URL:https://qrw.io/api/v1

Authentication

Every request must include your API key in the request header. You can obtain your API key from the Settings → API Keys page.

Header	Value
`X-Api-Key`	Your API key

If the key is missing, invalid, or inactive the request is rejected with 401 Unauthorized.

Endpoints

POST/api/v1/link/create

Creates a short link with a redirect URL and optional labels.

Link reuse: If the authenticated user has an existing unused link (no redirect URL set) whose slug length matches the requested length, the oldest matching one is automatically reused — no new link is created and no credits are charged. Otherwise a new link slug is generated and credits are deducted as normal.

Query Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`redirecturl`	string	Yes	—	The destination URL to redirect to
`labels`	string	No	`null`	Comma-separated labels/tags for the link
`length`	integer	No	`20`	Slug length (min: `3`, longer = cheaper). Also used to match existing unused links for reuse.

Responses

200 OKNew link created

{
  "link": "aB3kR7mN2xQpLsYt4vZw",
  "url": "https://qrw.io/aB3kR7mN2xQpLsYt4vZw",
  "linkId": 42,
  "cost": 10,
  "message": "success"
}

200 OKExisting unused link reused (0 credits charged)

{
  "link": "aB3kR7mN2xQpLsYt4vZw",
  "url": "https://qrw.io/aB3kR7mN2xQpLsYt4vZw",
  "linkId": 17,
  "cost": 0,
  "message": "success"
}

Field	Type	Description
`link`	string	The short link slug
`url`	string	Full short URL (`https://qrw.io/{slug}`)
`linkId`	integer	Internal link ID
`cost`	integer	Credits deducted. `0` when an unused link was reused
`message`	string	`"success"`

200Insufficient credits

{ "error": "Not enough credits! Required: 10, available: 3" }

400Bad Request — Invalid length

{ "error": "Length must be at least 3" }

401Unauthorized — Invalid API key

{ "error": "Invalid or inactive API key" }

404Not Found — User not found

{ "error": "User not found" }

Credit Pricing

Shorter slugs cost more credits. The length parameter controls the slug length and its credit cost.

Length	Credits
3	12,500
4	7,000
5	2,000
6	800
7	300
8	160
9	80
10	40
11–19	12–30
20+	10

Examples

Create a new link (no unused links available):

curl -X POST "https://api.qrw.io/api/v1/link/create" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: your_api_key_here" \
  -d "redirecturl=https://example.com/my-page" \
  -d "labels=marketing,summer" \
  -d "length=8"

{
  "link": "aB3kRm7N",
  "url": "https://qrw.io/aB3kRm7N",
  "linkId": 42,
  "cost": 160,
  "message": "success"
}

Reuse an existing unused link of the same length (credits: 0):

curl -X POST "https://api.qrw.io/api/v1/link/create" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: your_api_key_here" \
  -d "redirecturl=https://example.com/new-campaign" \
  -d "length=20"

{
  "link": "xQpLsYt4vZwaB3kR7mN2",
  "url": "https://qrw.io/xQpLsYt4vZwaB3kR7mN2",
  "linkId": 17,
  "cost": 0,
  "message": "success"
}

Need an API key? Generate one from your account settings.

Go to Settings → API Keys