Shorten a link
Some web addresses run to three hundred characters of tracking gibberish. This turns one into something short enough to read out over the phone or write on a piece of paper. No account, and it takes about ten seconds.
How to use it
The page is styled like a 1990s hacker terminal, so the labels are a bit theatrical. Here is what they mean in ordinary words.
That is just the box for the address you want to shorten. Include the https://
at the front. The easiest way to get it exactly right is to copy it from your browser's
address bar rather than typing it.
An "alias" is simply the ending you want. Type party and your link becomes
url.karafa.net/party — far easier to remember than random characters. Leave it
blank and one is generated for you. If the name is already taken you will be asked for
another.
Which means "make the link". You may have to confirm you are not a robot first — that is there to stop automated abuse. Your short link then appears on screen; copy it and use it anywhere.
There is no account, which means there is no list of your past links to come back to. Once you close the page, an uncopied link is gone — you would have to make it again. Using a custom alias you will remember is a good hedge against this.
When this is genuinely useful
- Reading a link aloud. Dictating a map link over the phone is impossible; dictating
url.karafa.net/dinneris not. - Typing it on a TV or console. Anything you have to enter with a remote control is worth shortening first.
- Printing it. On a poster, an invitation or a slide, a short link is legible; a long one is not.
- Tidying up tracking clutter. Long addresses are often mostly campaign parameters. The short version hides that mess.
- Messages that break links. Some apps split very long addresses across lines and break them; short ones survive.
A word of caution
A shortened link hides where it leads — which is convenient, and is also exactly why scammers like short links. Two habits are worth having:
- Do not open short links from people you do not know. That applies to every shortener on the internet, not only this one.
- Tell people where your link goes. "Here is the menu: url.karafa.net/menu" gets clicked; a bare link from nowhere looks like spam.
The service is offered in good faith. Links used for phishing, malware or harassment will be removed and the service is not the place to route anything you would not want associated with your name.
Common questions
Do I need a Karafa.net account?
No. The shortener is open to anyone, with no sign-in at all.
Do short links expire?
They are intended to keep working indefinitely. That said, this is a small self-run service on one machine — for something that genuinely must survive for years, do not depend on any free shortener, ours included.
Can I edit or delete a link afterwards?
Not yourself, since there is no account to log into. If you need one removed, write to the help desk with the short link and we will delete it.
Can I see how many people clicked?
Not through the public page — click statistics are not offered to anonymous users. If you need counts for something specific, ask.