Shlink's two install paths and the host requirements between them

PHP 8.4 or 8.5 and six extensions set the floor

Shlink states its host requirements as a floor rather than a suggestion. PHP 8.4 or 8.5, then the extensions json, curl, pdo, intl, gd and gmp/bcmath. Two conditional extensions sit outside that list. The apcu extension is recommended if you do not plan to use RoadRunner, and sockets plus bcmath are required only if you want to integrate with a RabbitMQ instance. Storage is one of MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MicrosoftSQL or SQLite, and the matching PDO variation has to be present as `pdo_mysql`, `pdo_pgsql`, `pdo_sqlsrv` or `pdo_sqlite`. A host on PHP 8.3 does not meet the stated requirement, so check the interpreter version before you plan anything else.

A git checkout does not run until build.sh finishes

There is no plain checkout that serves traffic. Two routes exist. Download the `shlink*_dist.zip` file matching your PHP version from the latest release page and decompress it where you want it to live, or build it yourself: clone with `git clone https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink.git`, drop Composer inside the project folder, then run `./build.sh 3.0.0` with the version you intend to build. That number becomes part of the generated dist file name and sets the value returned by `shlink -V` from the command line. Output lands in the `build` directory as a dist file that still has to be decompressed. The same script is what the release workflow runs after tagging, so a local build matches the shape of the published archive.

The installer has to run on the server, not your laptop

Setup is a PHP script with a location constraint. `vendor/bin/shlink-installer install` walks you through the installation process, and it has to be run directly on the server where you plan to host Shlink. Running it elsewhere first and uploading the files afterwards breaks that assumption. Two things come before it: create an empty database with a name of your choice if you picked MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL or Microsoft SQL Server, and recursively grant write permissions to the `data` directory, which Shlink uses to cache information. With SQLite there is no database server to prepare, but the writable `data` directory is still required or the cache has nowhere to land.

The first API key comes from the CLI, and stays there

Installation ends by generating the credential the REST API depends on: `bin/cli api-key:generate` produces your first API key, which you need in order to interact with the API. After that there are two entry points. `bin/cli` lists the available commands, each accepting `--help` or `-h` for its usage and options, and symlinking the CLI entry point into your path lets you run shlink from any directory. The REST API performs mostly the same operations, with documentation at shlink.io/documentation/api-docs and a sandbox documenting every endpoint at api-spec.shlink.io. One operation is asymmetric: API key management is done from the command line interface only, so scripted automation of keys has no HTTP counterpart.

The Docker image hardcodes pdo_sqlsrv to x86_64

The container makes its own version and runtime decisions before PHP does. It starts from `php:8.5-alpine3.24`, sets `USER_ID` to 1001, and exposes two build arguments you can override: `SHLINK_VERSION`, defaulted to `latest`, and `SHLINK_RUNTIME`, defaulted to `rr`. Extensions compile in a single layer where temporary dev packages are installed and then removed with `apk del .dev-deps`, with `pdo_sqlite` added afterwards once `sqlite-libs` is present. The SQL Server driver is architecture dependent: the `pdo_sqlsrv` 5.13.0 install is guarded by an `uname -m` check for x86_64. On arm64 the image builds successfully and simply has no SQL Server support, so a MariaDB or PostgreSQL backend is the portable choice on Apple silicon and similar hosts.

The compose file declares ten linked services behind one PHP container

The repository's `docker-compose.yml` wires far more than a shortener needs on day one. The `shlink_php` service builds from `./data/infra/php.Dockerfile`, runs as `user: 1000:1000`, publishes `8888:8888`, mounts the working tree at `/home/shlink/www` alongside `data/infra/php.ini`, and sets `DEFAULT_DOMAIN: localhost:8000`. It declares links to eleven others: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Microsoft SQL, two Redis variants, two Mercure services, the Mercure proxy, RabbitMQ and Matomo. `shlink_nginx` uses `nginx:1.25-alpine` on `8000:80` and mounts the same tree plus `./docs` at `public/docs`. Read that list as configuration surface, since each linked name has to resolve and each unused service is dead weight you can delete before the first boot.

The README stops at the basics and ships no dashboard

The document names its own limits: it holds the very basics, and everything else lives in the full searchable documentation at shlink.io/documentation, with the image covered separately at shlink.io/documentation/install-docker-image. Not addressed there is rollback after a failed upgrade, backing up the `data` directory or the database, log rotation, or any rate limiting on API keys. The web client is not part of this repository either. It lives in shlinkio/shlink-web-client and can be pointed at https://app.shlink.io or self hosted, which means a fresh install has no bundled dashboard in the tree. Root entries such as `UPGRADE.md`, `SECURITY.md`, `DEVELOPING.md` and `config/` hint at more, but beyond the installer, `bin/cli` and the key generation step, the README leaves further CLI usage to `--help` output.

Editorial conclusion

Shlink fits teams that already run PHP and want short links on their own domain with full control over the API. It is a poor fit if you want a bundled dashboard or a hosted service, since the web client is a separate repository. Before starting, confirm your PHP minor version, that the PDO driver for your chosen database is compiled in, and whether you can run the installer on the final server rather than your workstation.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. License: MIT
2. Project website
3. README
4. Releases
5. shlinkio/shlink on GitHub