Agent-readable docs index: /docs/llms.txt. Full docs in one file: /docs/llms-full.txt. Download /docs/docs.zip to grep all markdown files locally.
Welcome to Shaf! In this hands-on tutorial, you will shorten your first destination URL, customize its slug, and verify real-time edge analytics in less than 3 minutes.

What You Will Build

By the end of this lesson, you will have a live, production-grade short link deployed across Cloudflare's global edge network:
Production Deliverable
  • Short URL: https://shaf.is/edge-guide
  • Destination: https://example.com/blog/how-to-scale-edge-infrastructure
  • P95 Latency: < 15ms worldwide via 330+ edge data centers
  • Telemetry: Real-time click counter, geolocation detection, and device breakdown

Prerequisites

You need an active Shaf account. If you don't have one, sign in at dash.shaf.app using Google OAuth or magic email authentication. No credit card is required.

Step-by-Step Instructions

    1. Open your browser and navigate to dash.shaf.app/dashboard/links.
    2. If this is your first session, Shaf automatically initializes your personal default workspace.
    3. In the top-right corner of the dashboard, click the Create Link button (or press C on your keyboard).
    A modal dialog will appear with link creation settings. Fill in the following fields:
    1. Destination URL: Paste the target URL you want to route visitors to:
      https://example.com/blog/how-to-scale-edge-infrastructure
    2. Short Link Slug: Shaf automatically generates a random 6-character string. Replace it with a memorable, human-readable slug:
      edge-guide
    3. Link Domain: Leave the default system domain shaf.is selected. (In Tutorial 2, you will connect your own custom branded domain).
    4. Tags (Optional): Add tags such as tutorial or docs to easily filter links in your dashboard.
    Why Branded Slugs Matter: Human-readable, descriptive slugs (e.g. ios-launch or edge-guide) increase click-through rates by up to 34% compared to generic random character strings.
    Click Create Link to persist your short link across Cloudflare's global edge data centers.

    Test the Edge Redirect

    1. Copy your newly generated link:
      https://shaf.is/edge-guide
    2. Open a new Incognito / Private window and paste the URL into your address bar.
    3. Press Enter and observe the instantaneous redirect to your destination page.
    Why is Shaf so fast? Traditional redirectors route every request back to a centralized origin server (200–500ms latency). Shaf evaluates redirects at the nearest Cloudflare Workers edge node using distributed KV storage, completing redirects in under 15 milliseconds regardless of where your visitor is located.

    Inspect Real-Time Analytics

    1. Switch back to your Shaf Console tab at dash.shaf.app.
    2. Click Analytics in the left sidebar navigation.
    3. Within seconds, you will see your visit recorded in the live stream:
      • Click count: Incremented by +1.
      • Geographic location: Your country and city flag.
      • Device & Browser: Exact client OS (macOS, Windows, iOS) and browser engine.
      • Referrer: Recorded as Direct navigation.
    Privacy-First Analytics: Shaf collects telemetry without using tracking cookies, fingerprinting, or storing raw IP addresses, ensuring 100% compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR.

Troubleshooting & Common Roadblocks

What if my desired slug is already taken?
Slugs must be unique per domain. If someone else already registered edge-guide on shaf.is, you will receive a 409 Conflict error. Simply append your name or company prefix (e.g. acme-edge-guide). When you connect a Custom Domain in Level 2, you have exclusive ownership of all slugs on your domain!
My browser opened a cached old page instead of the new destination
Shaf issues HTTP 308 Permanent Redirect headers for maximum performance. If you edited an existing link's destination, your local browser cache may temporarily serve the old destination. Test using a fresh Incognito window or open browser DevTools and enable Disable cache.
The analytics counter didn't update immediately
Shaf uses a bounded client-side stream replay that batches edge analytics events to minimize battery and memory consumption on mobile devices. Events typically appear in the console within 5 to 10 seconds.

Checkpoint & Next Steps

🎉 Level 1 Milestone Complete!
Congratulations! You have created, deployed, and verified your first edge-redirecting link on Shaf.
Next Lesson: Take your branding to the next level by connecting your company's custom domain (e.g. go.yourbrand.com) with automated zero-config SSL certificates.
Proceed to Level 2: Custom Domains →