URL shortener MCP servers compared
Seven URL shorteners have an official MCP server: Flared, Bitly, Dub, Linkly, Rebrandly, Short.io, and Sink. We checked each one on October 24, 2026. Five of them offer OAuth sign-in, so you do not have to paste an API key. Only Flared asks for separate permissions to read and to change links, and only Flared has no tool that deletes a link.
Method
- Servers: the MCP servers that each vendor or project makes and documents. TinyURL, Kutt, YOURLS, and Shlink have community servers only, and we found none for Cuttly or BL.INK.
- Sign-in: we sent an MCP
initializerequest with no credentials to each server, and read the OAuth documents that it points to. We made no account and called no tool. - Tools: from the vendor’s tool reference, install page, or source code. Linkly’s server lists its tools before sign-in, so its count is from the server. Short.io publishes no tool list; its count is from a third-party list.
- Read or change: from the read-only marks in the tool definitions. Bitly and Rebrandly do not mark their tools, so we sorted them by name and description.
Summary
| Server | Address | Sign-in | Tools | Read / change | Deletes links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flared | https://api.flared.page/mcp | OAuth | 15 | 8 / 7 | No: a link turns off and can come back on |
| Bitly | https://api-ssl.bitly.com/v4/mcp | OAuth or API token | 56 | 29 / 27 | Yes |
| Dub | https://mcp.dub.sh/mcp/dub-links | OAuth | 32 | 11 / 21 | Yes, also in bulk |
| Linkly | https://mcp.linklyhq.com | OAuth | 25 | 13 / 12 | Yes, also in bulk |
| Rebrandly | https://mcp.rebrandly.com/v1/mcp | OAuth or API key | 39 | 23 / 15, 1 unclear | Yes |
| Short.io | https://ai-assistant.short.io/mcp | API key | 14 | 10 / 3, 1 either | Through call-api; its docs say no |
| Sink | https://your-domain/api/mcp | Site token | 14 | 10 / 4 | Yes |
19 of Bitly’s 56 tools manage its link-in-bio pages, so 37 are for links, QR codes, domains,
and analytics. Short.io’s one “either” tool, call-api, sends any request to its
REST API, so it can read or change anything that the API can.
Tools from Bitly’s tool reference, Dub’s install page, Linkly’s server, Rebrandly’s tool reference, a third-party Short.io plugin (its README of September 16, 2026), and Sink’s source, on October 24, 2026. Short.io’s MCP guide says that its server cannot edit or delete a link; the third-party list has an edit tool.
Sign-in
With OAuth, the assistant opens the shortener in your browser, you sign in and approve, and the assistant gets a token. With an API key, you copy a key from the shortener’s settings into the assistant’s settings, and anyone who has the key has your account.
| Server | Points to its OAuth details | Registers new clients | Client ID documents | Permissions to choose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flared | Yes, from the 401 | Yes | Yes | 5: see links, change links, see analytics, see domains, see usage |
| Bitly | Yes, with a nonstandard header | Yes | No | 1: mcp.all |
| Dub | Yes, from the 401 | Yes | Yes | None listed |
| Linkly | Yes, at the site root | Yes | No | 1: full_access |
| Rebrandly | Yes, from the 401 | Yes | Yes | None for links |
| Short.io | No | No | No | No OAuth |
| Sink | No | No | No | No OAuth |
- Points to its OAuth details: the server publishes protected resource metadata, which
names the server that issues its tokens. Bitly’s 401 names the document in an
as_uriparameter; the standard name isresource_metadata. Clients that follow the MCP specification also look at the standard address, where Bitly serves the document. - Registers new clients: the OAuth server lists a dynamic client registration address, so a new assistant can connect with no setup by the vendor.
- Client ID documents: the OAuth server says that it accepts a client ID metadata document. The November 2025 MCP specification says that servers should support them.
- Permissions to choose: the scopes that the server lists. With one scope or none, an assistant that you connect only to read reports can also delete links. With Flared, an assistant that asks only to see links and analytics can change nothing.
Short.io serves an OAuth server document with two links, to its sign-in page and its sign-up
page, and no token address. An assistant cannot sign in with it, so Short.io’s guide puts an API key in the Authorization header. Sink uses the site token of your instance
as a bearer token.
Rebrandly documents OAuth for Claude and an API key for other assistants, but its OAuth server offers registration to any client. Dub documents OAuth only for its links server; its API key header is for its partner program server.
Flared and Linkly use OAuth only, with no API key. Linkly answers initialize and lists its tools before you sign in, so an assistant can show the tool
list first.
What the tools cover
| Server | QR codes | Analytics | Add a custom domain | Create in bulk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flared | Yes, PNG | Yes | No, lists them | Yes, with a dry run first |
| Bitly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, from a CSV or XLSX file |
| Dub | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, up to 100 links |
| Linkly | No | Yes | Yes | No, deletes in bulk only |
| Rebrandly | No | Yes | No, attaches one | No |
| Short.io | No | Yes | No | No |
| Sink | No | Yes, from a sample | No | No |
Every server can create links and read clicks. A larger tool count does not always help: most assistants load every tool description before they answer, so tools that you never use take space in its context.
Plans
What each vendor says about the plans that include its MCP server:
| Server | Plans |
|---|---|
| Flared | Every plan, Free included. One tool, apply_automation, needs Plus. |
| Bitly | The pricing page marks it on every plan, Free included. A support article says “available with some paid plans”. |
| Dub | Not stated for the links server. The links pricing page lists API access on Free. |
| Linkly | The support page says Pro and above. A release note of August 17, 2026 says the Claude integration is on every plan, Free included. |
| Rebrandly | The pricing page marks it on every plan, Free included. Free has 10 new links a month. |
| Short.io | Not stated. The pricing page lists the API on every plan. |
| Sink | No plans: you deploy the open-source app on your own Cloudflare account. |
Self-hosting
Two of the seven servers come with open-source code that you can run yourself, both under AGPL-3.0 and both on Cloudflare Workers. Sink added its MCP endpoint in version 0.3.1 (September 27, 2026) and signs in with the site token. The self-hosted edition of Flared has the same MCP server and the same OAuth sign-in as Flared Cloud. The other five servers are hosted only.
Server cards
An MCP server card describes a server at a known address, so that directories and agents can
find it before they connect. Flared publishes one at /.well-known/mcp/server-card.json, and Rebrandly publishes one on its MCP host. We found none for Bitly, Dub, Linkly, or
Short.io, on their sites or their MCP hosts, and none in Sink’s source.
Where Flared fits
- Sign-in is OAuth only, on every plan. There is no API key to copy, store, or leak.
- Five separate permissions. The consent page shows each one, and an assistant that asks only to read cannot change a link.
- If you have more than one workspace, you choose one at consent, and the assistant works only there.
- No tool deletes a link.
disable_linkturns a link off, andenable_linkturns it back on. - Seven tools change links, and each one is marked as a change, so your assistant can ask you to confirm it first.
- The same server runs in the open-source self-hosted edition.
Bitly has the most tools, and it can add custom domains and manage link-in-bio pages. Dub can create up to 100 links in one call, and it changes and deletes links in bulk too.
To connect Flared to Claude Code, run:
claude mcp add --transport http flared https://api.flared.page/mcpThe steps for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and VS Code are in Flared in your AI assistant.
Limits
- We checked each server once, on October 24, 2026. Vendors add tools often.
- Tool counts come from documents and source code, except Linkly’s. A server can have tools that its documents do not list.
- The read and change split for Bitly and Rebrandly is ours, from the tool names and descriptions.
- We called no tool, so we did not test how well each tool works.