About
A small gateway for the people who still like the web.
LinxMax is two old ideas — short URLs and webrings — bundled into one self-hostable thing. No ads, no surveillance, no enterprise tier.
Why
Most URL shorteners are advertising platforms with a tracking pipeline attached. Most webring services from the 90s died. LinxMax puts both back into something a single person can run on their own box without selling anyone out.
The whole thing is about ownership. Your short URLs live in a Postgres database you run, exportable to JSON whenever you want. Your webring memberships are managed by a person, not an algorithm. The C++ servers and React frontends are small enough to audit in an evening.
There's no signup wall on the marketing site, no email capture, and no "free tier vs. enterprise" dance. The app either runs on lnx.mx (where I run it) or wherever you deploy it.
What it is, and isn't
Is
- · A personal URL shortener with a REST API + CLI
- · A directory of hand-curated webrings
- · A pair of small C++ servers you can read end to end
- · Self-hostable via one ansible role
- · Free, no ads, no tracking
- · Postgres-backed; export your data to JSON anytime
Isn't
- · An ad-supported shortener like the big ones
- · A "creator analytics" or marketing-attribution tool
- · A team product with seats and permissions
- · Trying to compete with bit.ly or similar
- · Done. Still in active development
- · An algorithm-curated social network
Status
The app is not published yet — this site is.
Source for the whole stack is at
github.com/notdsk
(or under ~/src/lnx/ if you're me).
URL shortener: works, REST + CLI, daily use.
Webring directory: works for read/navigation; moderation flow is sharper than the public 1.0 cut will eventually need.
Auth: API keys gate every mutation (create/update/delete and webring moderation). Public reads — shortcode redirects, the SPA, this site — stay open.