README

SecureLink is a lightweight, framework-agnostic PHP package that allows you to create temporary, self-expiring links. These links can expire based on time or number of clicks, making it ideal for securely sharing sensitive content or granting temporary access.

Features

• Generate time-limited links (expire after configurable minutes)
• Generate click-limited links (expire after a certain number of clicks)
• Automatic expiry handling with customizable messages
• Simple and lightweight, using file storage or adaptable to other storages
• Easy integration with any PHP project (no framework required)
• Optional audit logging (can be extended)
• Secure token generation using PHP’s random_bytes()

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Usage
  • Generating Time-Limited Link
  • Generating Click-Limited Link
  • Handling Link Access (Redirection)
• Configuration
• Project Structure
• Advanced Usage
• License

Installation

1. Clone or download this repository to your project folder.
2. Make sure your PHP version is 7.2+ (for random_bytes() support).
3. Set writable permissions to the storage/ directory, as it stores link metadata.

Installation USING composer

composer require wad/securelink:dev-main

If you want to use Composer autoloading:

composer dump-autoload

Usage

Below are basic usage examples of SecureLink using core PHP.

Generating Time-Limited Link

require_once DIR . '/src/SecureLink.php';

// Initialize with storage folder path and secret key
$secureLink = new SecureLink(DIR . '/storage', 'your-secret-key');

// Create a link that expires in 30 minutes
$link = $secureLink->createTimeLink('https://example.com/secret-file.zip', 30);

echo "Your 30-minute temporary link: $link\n";

Generating Click-Limited Link

require_once DIR . '/src/SecureLink.php';

$secureLink = new SecureLink(DIR . '/storage', 'your-secret-key');

// Create a link that expires after 5 clicks
$link = $secureLink->createClickLink('https://example.com/private-report.pdf', 5);

echo "Your 5-click temporary link: $link\n";

Handling Link Access (Redirection)

Create a secure.php file that handles link validation and redirects users accordingly:

require_once DIR . '/src/SecureLink.php';

$secureLink = new SecureLink(DIR . '/storage', 'your-secret-key');

$token = $_GET['token'] ?? '';

$url = $secureLink->resolve($token);

if ($url && !in_array($url, ['Link expired', null])) {
header("Location: $url");
exit;
} else {
echo "Link expired or invalid.";
}

Configuration

• Storage Path: The directory where link data (JSON files) are saved. Must be writable by your PHP process.
• Secret Key: Used internally for generating tokens securely (you can extend encryption if needed).
• Base URL: The package generates URLs pointing to your secure.php file. Update this URL in the generateUrl() method if your domain or path changes.

Project Structure

securelink/
|-- src/
| |-- SecureLink.php # Core package class
|-- storage/ # Stores link metadata files
|-- secure.php # Link validation and redirector script
|-- example.php # Example usage script
|-- composer.json # Optional, for autoloading and package metadata
|-- README.md # This file

Advanced Usage & Extensions

• Password Protection: Extend the package to add password validation before redirect.
• Audit Logging: Add functionality to log link accesses to a file or DB.
• Database Support: Swap file storage with a database like SQLite or MySQL.
• Framework Integrations: Provide adapters/middleware for Laravel, Symfony, etc.
• Email Notifications: Notify users when links are created or accessed.
• Encryption: Secure URLs or link metadata with encryption for extra security.

If you want help implementing any of these, feel free to open an issue or reach out!

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Contact

Created by SuryaDev — Feel free to reach out for questions or suggestions!

Happy coding with SecureLink! 🚀