URL Shortener Expander

Expand shortened URLs (bit.ly, t.co, tinyurl.com, etc.) to reveal the final destination URL and full redirect chain.

What does URL Shortener Expander do?

This actor takes any list of shortened or redirecting URLs and follows each redirect step by step to reveal the final destination URL. It returns the complete redirect chain, redirect count, final status code, and final domain. Use it for link analysis, security verification, or marketing attribution whenever you need to see where a short link actually leads. It works with all major URL shorteners and any custom short domain that uses HTTP redirects.

Use cases

• Security analysts -- check where shortened links actually lead before clicking to detect phishing, malware, or suspicious destinations
• Marketing teams -- trace redirect chains to understand traffic flow and verify that campaign attribution links work correctly
• Link auditors -- verify that old shortened links still resolve correctly and reach the intended destination pages
• Compliance officers -- uncover suspicious final destinations hidden behind short URLs in regulated communications and emails
• SEO specialists -- check redirect chains for unnecessary hops that cause link equity loss and slow down page discovery
• Threat intelligence teams -- bulk-expand URLs from threat feeds to identify malicious infrastructure behind short links

Why use URL Shortener Expander?

• Batch processing -- expand hundreds of shortened URLs in a single run instead of clicking them one by one
• Full redirect chain -- see every hop in the redirect sequence, not just the final destination
• Multi-service support -- works with bit.ly, t.co, tinyurl.com, goo.gl, ow.ly, and any other URL shortener or custom short domain
• Timing data -- measures how long expansion takes so you can identify slow redirect chains that hurt user experience
• Final domain extraction -- the finalDomain field lets you quickly group and filter results by destination domain
• Structured JSON output -- consistent schema with original URL, final URL, chain, and domain ready for analysis
• Pay-per-event pricing -- you only pay for the URLs you expand, starting at $0.001 per URL

Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
urls	array	Yes	--	List of shortened URLs to expand (bit.ly, t.co, tinyurl.com, etc.)

You can mix shortened URLs from different services in the same batch. Non-shortened URLs are also accepted and will simply return the original URL with zero redirects.

Input example

{
    "urls": [
        "https://bit.ly/3ABC123",
        "https://tinyurl.com/example",
        "https://google.com"
    ]
}

Output example

Each result includes the original shortened URL, the final destination URL, the full redirect chain, redirect count, final status code, and the destination domain.

{
    "originalUrl": "https://bit.ly/3ABC123",
    "finalUrl": "https://www.example.com/landing-page?utm_source=bitly",
    "redirectChain": [
        "https://bit.ly/3ABC123",
        "https://www.example.com/landing-page?utm_source=bitly"
    ],
    "redirectCount": 1,
    "finalStatusCode": 200,
    "finalDomain": "www.example.com",
    "expandTimeMs": 450,
    "error": null,
    "expandedAt": "2026-03-01T12:00:00.000Z"
}

How to expand shortened URLs

1. Open URL Shortener Expander in Apify Console.
2. Enter a list of shortened URLs (bit.ly, t.co, tinyurl.com, etc.).
3. Click Start to run the actor.
4. View results in the Dataset tab -- each URL shows the final destination, redirect chain, and redirect count.
5. Download results as JSON, CSV, or Excel.

How much does it cost to expand shortened URLs?

URL Shortener Expander uses Apify's pay-per-event pricing model. You are only charged for what you actually use -- no monthly fees, no subscriptions.

Event	Price	Description
Start	$0.035	One-time per run
URL expanded	$0.001	Per URL processed

Cost examples:

• Expanding 10 URLs: $0.035 + (10 x $0.001) = $0.045
• Expanding 50 URLs: $0.035 + (50 x $0.001) = $0.085
• Expanding 100 URLs: $0.035 + (100 x $0.001) = $0.135
• Expanding 1,000 URLs: $0.035 + (1,000 x $0.001) = $1.035

Using the Apify API

You can call URL Shortener Expander programmatically from any language using the Apify API. The actor slug is automation-lab/url-shortener-expander. Below are ready-to-use examples for the two most common languages.

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/url-shortener-expander').call({
    urls: ['https://bit.ly/3ABC123', 'https://tinyurl.com/example'],
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient('YOUR_TOKEN')
run = client.actor('automation-lab/url-shortener-expander').call(run_input={
    'urls': ['https://bit.ly/3ABC123', 'https://tinyurl.com/example'],
})
items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
print(items)

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~url-shortener-expander/runs?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "urls": ["https://bit.ly/3ABC123", "https://tinyurl.com/example"]
  }'

Use with Claude AI (MCP)

This actor is available as a tool in Claude AI through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Add it to Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, or any MCP-compatible client to let Claude expand shortened URLs directly in your conversation.

Setup

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic-ai/mcp-apify"],
      "env": {
        "APIFY_TOKEN": "your-apify-api-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code CLI:

$claude mcp add apify -- npx -y @anthropic-ai/mcp-apify

Example prompts

• "Expand this bit.ly link to see where it goes: https://bit.ly/3ABC123"
• "Unshorten these 20 shortened URLs and tell me which domains they point to"
• "Check if this shortened URL leads to a suspicious destination"

Integrations

URL Shortener Expander integrates with the major automation and data platforms through the Apify ecosystem:

• Make (formerly Integromat) -- automatically expand shortened URLs from incoming data feeds and route results to security tools.
• Zapier -- create Zaps that expand links from emails, forms, or databases and flag suspicious destinations.
• Google Sheets -- export results for link auditing, reporting, and maintaining a registry of expanded URLs.
• Slack -- send alerts to a security channel when an expanded URL leads to a suspicious or blacklisted domain.
• Webhooks -- trigger downstream security checks or link validation in your own backend systems.
• n8n -- orchestrate runs from n8n workflows or any platform that supports HTTP requests and the Apify REST API.

Tips and best practices

• Include non-shortened URLs too -- the actor works with any URL; non-redirecting links simply return the original URL as the final destination with zero redirects.
• Check redirect counts -- a high redirectCount (3+) may indicate tracking chains or misconfigured redirects that slow down users.
• Use for email link safety -- expand all shortened URLs from inbound emails before clicking to protect against phishing and social engineering.
• Monitor affiliate links -- periodically expand your affiliate links to confirm they still reach the intended merchant pages and have not been hijacked.
• Pair with URL Parser -- after expanding, run the final URLs through URL Parser to extract domains, query parameters, and UTM tags for deeper analysis.

Legality

This actor accesses publicly available data through official or public APIs. API usage is subject to each service's Terms of Service and rate limits. Always review the API provider's usage policies before running at scale.

FAQ

What URL shorteners are supported? The actor works with any URL shortener service, including bit.ly, t.co, tinyurl.com, goo.gl, ow.ly, is.gd, rebrand.ly, and custom short domains. It simply follows HTTP redirects regardless of the service.

What happens if a shortened URL is expired or broken? The actor reports whatever the shortener returns. If the short URL no longer resolves, the error field will contain details about the failure (e.g., connection timeout or 404 status). Other URLs in the batch are still processed normally.

Does the actor visit the final destination page? The actor follows redirects via HTTP HEAD/GET requests but does not render the page in a browser. It captures the final URL and status code without executing any JavaScript on the destination page.

Can I export results to CSV? Yes. Apify datasets support export in JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, and other formats. After the run completes, download results from the Apify Console or use the API to export in your preferred format.

What is the maximum number of redirects followed? The actor follows up to 20 redirects per URL. If the chain exceeds this limit, it stops and reports the last URL reached along with an error indicating the maximum redirect count was exceeded.

Can I expand URLs that require authentication? No. The actor follows redirects as an unauthenticated client. If a redirect chain passes through a login wall, the actor will report the login page as the final destination rather than the content behind it.

A shortened URL shows an error instead of expanding. What can I do? The short link may have expired, been deleted by the creator, or the shortening service may be down. The error field will contain details like "404 Not Found" or "Connection timeout". Some URL shorteners also block automated requests -- in those cases the final URL may be a CAPTCHA or interstitial page.

The final URL looks like a login or CAPTCHA page, not the real destination. Why? Some shortening services or destination sites require browser-based interaction (CAPTCHA, cookie consent, login). The actor follows HTTP redirects without a browser, so it reports whatever the server returns as the final response. The finalStatusCode field can help you identify these cases (look for 403 or 200 with unexpected domains).

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