URL Unshortener API POST

Documentation Start for free →

URL Unshortener is a simple tool for unshortening shortened URLs. It returns the original URL before it was shortened.

Try it — live request, no key required

Request

POSTapi.apiverve.com/v1/urlunshortener

Verification

Format

No key required to try it. Get a key to use it in your app.

200 OK

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    // URL Unshortener response payload
  }
}

About the URL Unshortener API

URL Unshortener works by following the shortened URL's HTTP redirects to its final destination. It returns the resolved URL, the destination domain, the number of redirect hops, and the full hop-by-hop redirect chain — so you can see exactly where a link goes and which intermediate domains it passes through before trusting it.

Ways to call it

One endpoint, many ways in — REST with JSON, XML, YAML and CSV, plus GraphQL and an MCP interface for AI agents.

JSON: Default REST response
XML: Markup format
YAML: Human-readable
CSV: Tabular export
GraphQL: Query language
MCP: For AI agents

View all integrations →

Other ways to use URL Unshortener

Same data, same APIVerve account, same credit balance — one key works on all of them.

Give it to an AI agentConnect over MCP and your agent calls it as a native tool — Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT.on VerveKit Google Sheets or ExcelA =VERVE() formula fills a column — no script, no export, recalculates in place.on VerveSheets Ground an agent on itA cited, machine-checkable fact your model can't produce on its own.on VerveContext

Questions.

Common questions about the URL Unshortener API.

Read the docs →

What does the URL Unshortener API do?

URL Unshortener is a simple tool for unshortening shortened URLs. It returns the original URL before it was shortened.

How do I authenticate URL Unshortener API requests?

Pass your API key in the x-api-key header over HTTPS. One key works across all 300+ APIVerve APIs — there are no per-endpoint credentials.

How much does the URL Unshortener API cost?

Each call spends 10 credits from your shared pool. The free tier includes 200 credits every month, and paid plans add more headroom.

How fast is the URL Unshortener API?

Response time depends on the endpoint — the p50 through p99 latency for this API is published on this page. Requests are served over HTTPS through a global edge network.

What response formats does the URL Unshortener API support?

JSON by default, plus XML and YAML via the format parameter. GraphQL and an MCP interface for AI agents are available across the catalog.

What HTTP method does the URL Unshortener API use?

POST over HTTPS, following standard REST conventions with a consistent { status, error, data } response envelope.

Request parameters — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Sent as JSON in the request body. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them. Anything not listed here is dropped rather than passed through.

Required

Parameter	Type	Example	Description
`url`Required	string	`https://bit.ly/3k3j4`	The shortened URL to unshorten url

Example request

curl -X POST "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/urlunshortener" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://bit.ly/3k3j4"}'

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — no token exchange, and no per-endpoint scope to configure.

Header	When	Value
`x-api-key`Required	Every request	Your API key. Header names are case-insensitive, so `X-API-Key` is the same header.
`Authorization`Alternate	Instead of the above	`Bearer <key>` — for clients that only expose bearer auth. Resolves to the same account and the same billing.
`content-type`Required	POST body	`application/json`

401 is the only auth verdict

A 401 means the key is missing, invalid or expired. A 403 means the key is valid but not permitted here — blocked by a key restriction or an IP allow-list. Running out of credits is a 429.

Response — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Every APIVerve endpoint returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape.

Sample response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "source": "https://bit.ly/3k3j4",
    "destination": "http://www.allclimbing.com/archive/2009/09/climbing-video-alex-puccio-on-trice-v12/",
    "unshortened": true,
    "reason": null,
    "redirectCount": 1,
    "destinationDomain": "www.allclimbing.com",
    "redirectChain": [
      "https://bit.ly/3k3j4",
      "http://www.allclimbing.com/archive/2009/09/climbing-video-alex-puccio-on-trice-v12/"
    ]
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Field	Type	Example	Description
`source`	string	`"https://bit.ly/3k3j4"`	The shortened URL that was provided as input
`destination`	string	`"http://www.allclimbing.com/archive/2009/09/climbing-video-alex-puccio-on-trice-v12/"`	The original unshortened URL destination
`unshortened`	boolean	`true`	Whether the URL was successfully unshortened
`reason`	object	`null`	Reason for failure if unshortened is false
`redirectCount`	number	`1`	Number of HTTP redirect hops followed from the source to the final destination (0 if the URL was already final)
`destinationDomain`	string	`"www.allclimbing.com"`	Hostname of the final resolved destination URL
`redirectChain`Premium	array	`[https://bit.ly/3k3j4, ...]`	Ordered list of every URL visited, starting with the source and ending at the final destination — the intermediate entries are the redirect hops (tracking or cloaking domains) the link passes through

Response headers

Every response carries your balance, so your own code always knows where it stands without polling anything. All four are exposed to browsers through CORS.

Header	What it carries
`x-api-remaining-credits`	Credits left in the current cycle
`x-api-credits-used`	Credits spent in the current cycle
`x-api-max-credits`	The allowance for the cycle
`x-api-version`	Version of the endpoint that answered

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change.

Status	Meaning	What to do
`400`	Input was rejected	Read `error`; it names the parameter that has to change.
`401`	Key missing or invalid	Check the header name and the key value.
`403`	Key valid, but not permitted here	A key restriction or an IP allow-list — never a bad key.
`429`	Rate limited, or out of credits	Read `error` to tell them apart, then back off or top up.

What a call costs — 10 credits per call

Credits are shared across every APIVerve API — one balance, one key, one bill. Failed requests never count against it, so a rejected input costs nothing.

Plan	Per month	Credits	URL Unshortener calls	Per 1,000 calls
Free	Free	200	20	Free
Starter	$29.99	200,000	20,000	$1.50
Pro	$99.99	1,000,000	100,000	$1.00
Mega	$299.99	4,000,000	400,000	$0.75

Calls are what the credits buy at this API's rate — spend them here, on any of the other APIs, or across both. Nothing is reserved per endpoint.

Compare all pricing tiers →

Call it from cURL — POST /v1/urlunshortener

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/urlunshortener with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

cURL

1
2

curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/urlunshortener" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Resources

GitHubapiverve/urlunshortener-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceURL Unshortener API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

@apiverve/urlunshortenernpm apiverve-urlunshortenerPyPI APIVerve.API.URLUnshortenerNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Node.js — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Install the Node.js SDK, then call the URL Unshortener API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.

Install — npm

npm install @apiverve/urlunshortener

Node.js

const res = await fetch("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/urlunshortener", {
  headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
});
const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);

Resources

npm@apiverve/urlunshortenerThe published Node.js client, versioned and signed.GitHubapiverve/urlunshortener-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceURL Unshortener API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

apiverve-urlunshortenerPyPI APIVerve.API.URLUnshortenerNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Python — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Install the Python SDK, then call the URL Unshortener API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.

Install — PyPI

pip install apiverve-urlunshortener

Python

import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/urlunshortener",
    headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
print(res.json()["data"])

Resources

PyPIapiverve-urlunshortenerThe published Python client, versioned and signed.GitHubapiverve/urlunshortener-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceURL Unshortener API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

@apiverve/urlunshortenernpm APIVerve.API.URLUnshortenerNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from C# / .NET — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Install the C# / .NET SDK, then call the URL Unshortener API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.

Install — NuGet

dotnet add package APIVerve.API.URLUnshortener

C# / .NET

using var client = new HttpClient();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY");

var json = await client.GetStringAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/urlunshortener");
Console.WriteLine(json);

Resources

NuGetAPIVerve.API.URLUnshortenerThe published C# / .NET client, versioned and signed.GitHubapiverve/urlunshortener-apiSource, issues and the examples this page is built from.ReferenceURL Unshortener API docsEvery parameter, every response field, and the errors.ParametersWhat this call acceptsRequired and optional inputs, with example values.

Also published for

@apiverve/urlunshortenernpm apiverve-urlunshortenerPyPI

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Go — POST /v1/urlunshortener

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/urlunshortener with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/urlunshortener", nil)
req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY")

res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
defer res.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/urlunshortenernpm apiverve-urlunshortenerPyPI APIVerve.API.URLUnshortenerNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from PHP — POST /v1/urlunshortener

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/urlunshortener with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

PHP

$ch = curl_init("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/urlunshortener");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ["x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"]);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
echo $response;

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/urlunshortenernpm apiverve-urlunshortenerPyPI APIVerve.API.URLUnshortenerNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

Call it from Ruby — POST /v1/urlunshortener

No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/urlunshortener with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.

Ruby

require "net/http"

uri = URI("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/urlunshortener")
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = "YOUR_API_KEY"

res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true) { |h| h.request(req) }
puts res.body

Resources

Also published for

@apiverve/urlunshortenernpm apiverve-urlunshortenerPyPI APIVerve.API.URLUnshortenerNuGet

Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.

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URL Unshortener API POST

Try it — live request, no key required

About the URL Unshortener API

Ways to call it

Other ways to use URL Unshortener

Questions.

Request parameters — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Required

Authentication

Response — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Response fields

Response headers

Errors

What a call costs — 10 credits per call

Call it from cURL — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Node.js — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Python — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Resources

Also published for

Call it from C# / .NET — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Go — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Resources

Also published for

Call it from PHP — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Resources

Also published for

Call it from Ruby — POST /v1/urlunshortener

Resources

Also published for

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Changelog — URL Unshortener API

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