Click on "Deploy Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@tollbooth-shortlinks create a shortlink for this OAuth authorization URL"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
Don't Pester Your Customer™ (DPYC™) — Ephemeral, human-friendly short URLs for the Tollbooth ecosystem.
The metaphors in this project are drawn with admiration from The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer (1961). Milo, Tock, the Tollbooth, Dictionopolis, and Digitopolis are creations of Mr. Juster's extraordinary imagination. We just built the payment infrastructure.
OAuth Authorization URLs are long, ugly, and hostile to copy-paste:
https://api.schwab.com/v1/oauth/authorize?client_id=abc123&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2F
fastmcp.cloud%2Foauth%2Fcallback%3Fserver_id%3D...&scope=...&response_type=code&state=...Traditional link shorteners have become opinionated. They inject interstitial pages, track clicks, require accounts, gate features behind paywalls, or silently expire links on their own schedule. When an MCP server needs to hand a patron a one-time URL for an OAuth dance, none of that belongs in the path.
Tollbooth Shortlinks is a community utility with no monetization. It turns
any URL into a memorable four-word phrase like brave-otter-finds-gold, stores
the mapping in Neon Postgres, and expires it after 24 hours. A companion
Val Town HTTP handler does the 302 redirect with zero interstitial.
Related MCP server: mcp-server-hotw
MCP Server Shortlinks MCP Val Town
| | |
|-- create_shortlink(url) ---->| |
|<-- brave-otter-finds-gold ---| |
| | |
| (patron clicks short URL) | |
| | GET /brave-otter-.. |
| |<------------------------|
| | Neon lookup |
| |-- 302 redirect -------->|
| | |
| (24h later) | |
| | link expires silently |Tool | Description |
| Store a URL, get back a memorable slug (or supply your own) |
| Look up where a slug points without redirecting |
| Remove a shortlink before it expires |
| Health check showing active link count and TTL |
All tools are free -- no credits, no npub, no Tollbooth ledger required.
pip install -e ".[dev]"export NEON_SHORTLINKS_URL="postgres://user:pass@ep-xyz.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech/shortlinks"
python -c "from server import mcp; mcp.run()"The .fastmcp.yaml at the repo root is ready for fastmcp deploy.
Tollbooth Shortlinks is registered as an Advocate in the DPYC Social Contract. Peer MCP servers discover its URL via registry lookup:
from tollbooth import resolve_service_by_name
shortlinks_url = resolve_service_by_name("tollbooth-shortlinks")
redirect_base = resolve_service_by_name("tollbooth-shortlinks-redirect")The Tollbooth DPYC™ ecosystem:
Repo | Role |
The wheel -- operator-side credit ledger, BTCPay client, tool gating, constraint engine | |
The institution -- fee collection, Schnorr signing, purchase certification | |
The oracle -- Social Contract governance, membership, ban elections | |
The registry -- governance data, operator catalog, community rules | |
Reference operator -- weather API with full Tollbooth wiring | |
Monetized graph answers -- named Cypher over Neo4j/AuraDB | |
Charles Schwab brokerage MCP -- trading, quotes, portfolio access | |
eXcalibur -- formatted posting to X (Twitter) | |
Personal Brain MCP -- thought graphs, knowledge management | |
Tax sorting and classification MCP | |
Options analytics MCP | |
tollbooth-shortlinks (this repo) | Community utility -- ephemeral short URLs for OAuth flows |
OAuth2 callback collector -- browser-based token exchange | |
iOS app -- operator dashboard and pricing model editor |
Apache-2.0. See LICENSE for details.
This server cannot be deployed
Create and manage short links, track clicks, and automate URL management
Make and manage short links on your own domain, with analytics and routing rules.
Short links with branded domains, cookie-less analytics and QR codes. Sign in with OAuth or a token
Free privacy-first URL shortener API. Shorten URLs with custom codes and automatic expiry. No tracking, no API keys required.
