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Quick Start

Get started with LinkForty Cloud in under 5 minutes. No credit card required.

Looking to self-host?

This guide covers LinkForty Cloud (the managed SaaS platform). If you want to deploy LinkForty Core on your own infrastructure, see the Self-Hosting Guide.

1. Create Your Account​

Visit linkforty.com and sign up for a free account.

Free Tier includes:

  • 1,000 links
  • 5,000 clicks/month
  • Core features (attribution, QR codes, analytics)
  • 1 organization, up to 3 team members
  • 1 custom domain
  • 7-day analytics retention

No credit card required. Upgrade later when you need more capacity.

2. Create Your First Organization​

After signing in, you'll be prompted to create your first organization:

  1. Click "Create Organization"
  2. Enter your organization name (e.g., "Acme Inc")
  3. Click "Create"

Organizations allow you to:

  • Separate personal and business links
  • Invite team members with role-based access
  • Manage multiple projects
  • Track separate analytics per organization

3. Create Your First Template​

Important

Templates must be created before links. Templates define default settings (like app store URLs, attribution windows, and UTM parameters) that apply to all links created from that template.

Step 1: Navigate to Templates​

  1. Click "Settings" in the sidebar
  2. Click "Link Templates"
  3. Click "Create Template" button

Step 2: Configure Your Template​

Fill in the template details:

Basic Information:

  • Name: "Default Template" or "Instagram Campaigns"
  • Description: "Standard template for social media campaigns"

Default Platform URLs:

  • iOS URL: https://apps.apple.com/app/your-app/id123456789
  • Android URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yourapp
  • Web Fallback: https://example.com (optional)

Default Attribution Window:

  • Select 168 hours (7 days) - Industry standard

Default UTM Parameters (optional):

  • Medium: social (all links from this template will have this)

Click "Create Template" and you're ready to create links.

  1. Click "Links" in the sidebar
  2. Click "Create Link" button

Step 2: Select Your Template​

  • Template: Select "Default Template" (the template you just created)

The template will automatically fill in default values for app store URLs and attribution window.

Fill in the required fields:

Basic Information:

  • Original URL: https://example.com/product/123 (where you want to send users)
  • Title: "Product 123 Launch" (internal reference)
  • Description: "Q1 product launch campaign"

Platform URLs (optional but recommended):

  • iOS URL: https://apps.apple.com/app/your-app/id123456789
  • Android URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yourapp
  • Web Fallback: https://example.com/product/123 (desktop users)

Attribution Window:

  • Select 168 hours (7 days) - Default
  • Shorter windows (1-24h) for direct response campaigns
  • Longer windows (30-90 days) for brand awareness

UTM Parameters (optional):

  • Source: instagram
  • Medium: social
  • Campaign: product-launch-q1

Click "Create Link" and you'll get:

https://lnk.forty.com/abc123

Your short link is now live and ready to share.

Copy your short link and use it anywhere:

  • Social Media: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter
  • Email Campaigns: Mailchimp, SendGrid, etc.
  • Print Materials: Flyers, business cards, posters
  • Messaging Apps: WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS
  • Video Descriptions: YouTube, Vimeo

How It Works​

When someone clicks your link:

  1. Web Users: Redirected to your Original URL or Web Fallback
  2. Mobile Users (no app): Sent to App Store/Google Play
  3. Mobile Users (has app): Deep link directly into your app content
  4. All Clicks: Tracked in real-time with full analytics

6. Track Your Results​

View Analytics​

  1. Click "Analytics" in the sidebar
  2. Select your link from the list
  3. See real-time data:
    • Total Clicks: How many people clicked
    • Installs: How many installed your app
    • Geographic Data: Countries and cities
    • Device Breakdown: iOS, Android, Web
    • Conversion Rate: Clicks to installs

Export Data​

Export your analytics data:

  1. Click "Export" button
  2. Choose format: JSON or CSV
  3. Use data in Excel, Google Sheets, or BI tools

7. Install Mobile SDK (Optional)​

To enable deferred deep linking and attribution tracking, install our SDK in your mobile app:

React Native​

npm install @linkforty/mobile-sdk-react-native
import LinkForty from '@linkforty/mobile-sdk-react-native';

// Initialize at app launch (App.tsx)
LinkForty.init({
  baseUrl: 'https://go.yourdomain.com',
  appToken: 'at_your_app_token',   // recommended for Cloud
});

// Handle the deferred deep link on a new install
LinkForty.onDeferredDeepLink((data) => {
  if (data) {
    // User installed from a short link — route to the right content
    navigateToContent(data);
  }
});

iOS (Swift)​

pod 'LinkFortySDK', '~> 1.0'
import LinkFortySDK

let config = LinkFortyConfig(
    baseURL: "https://go.yourdomain.com",
    appToken: "at_your_app_token"
)
try await LinkForty.shared.initialize(config: config)

LinkForty.shared.onDeferredDeepLink { deepLinkData in
    guard let data = deepLinkData else { return }
    navigateToContent(data)
}

Android (Kotlin)​

implementation("com.linkforty:sdk:1.3.0")
import com.linkforty.sdk.LinkForty
import com.linkforty.sdk.LinkFortyConfig

val config = LinkFortyConfig(
    baseUrl = "https://go.yourdomain.com",
    appToken = "at_your_app_token"
)
LinkForty.initialize(this, config)

LinkForty.shared.onDeferredDeepLink { deepLinkData ->
    deepLinkData?.let { navigateToContent(it) }
}

See the SDK Integration Guide for the complete cross-platform setup, and each platform's full SDK page (including Expo and Flutter).

8. Generate QR Codes​

Create QR codes for offline-to-online attribution:

  1. Go to your link details page
  2. Click "Generate QR Code"
  3. Configure options:
    • Size: 256px, 512px, 1024px, 2048px
    • Format: PNG or SVG
    • Color: Match your brand
  4. Download and use in:
    • Print ads
    • Product packaging
    • Event signage
    • Business cards

9. Set Up Webhooks (Optional)​

Get real-time notifications for clicks and installs:

  1. Click "Settings" then "Webhooks"
  2. Click "Create Webhook"
  3. Enter your endpoint URL: https://yourapp.com/webhooks/linkforty
  4. Select events:
    • link.clicked
    • app.installed
    • deeplink.matched
  5. Click "Create"

Example webhook payload:

{
  "event": "app.installed",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "data": {
    "linkId": "abc123",
    "userId": "user_456",
    "platform": "ios",
    "country": "US",
    "city": "San Francisco",
    "utmSource": "instagram",
    "utmCampaign": "product-launch-q1"
  }
}

Use webhooks to:

  • Award referral credits
  • Trigger email sequences
  • Update CRM records
  • Send Slack notifications

10. Connect AI Assistants (Optional)​

Manage your LinkForty workspace from Claude, Cursor, or Claude Code using natural language. The official LinkForty MCP server lets your AI assistant create links, query analytics, and even scaffold SDK integration code with prompts like:

"Show me the top 5 links from the last 30 days and which countries they're getting traffic from." "Create a deep link for my Spring sale on Instagram with UTM source=instagram, medium=social, campaign=spring-sale." "Help me add the LinkForty SDK to my React Native app."

Quick setup for Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Claude Code — just add the URL and your API key:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linkforty": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.linkforty.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer dl_your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

No local installation required. The MCP server is open source, free on every plan, and works with self-hosted LinkForty Core instances too. See the MCP Server guide for full setup instructions, all 20 available tools, stdio transport option, and project-level configuration with .mcp.json.

Next Steps​

Now that you have your first link running, explore advanced features:

Getting Help​

Pricing​

For current plan pricing, see the pricing page.

Free Tier:

  • 1,000 links
  • 5,000 clicks/month
  • 3 team members
  • 1 custom domain
  • 7-day analytics retention

Pro Tier:

  • 25,000 links
  • 100,000 clicks/month
  • 10 team members
  • 5 custom domains
  • 90-day analytics retention
  • 3 API keys (60 req/min), 5 webhooks

Business Tier:

  • 100,000 links
  • 500,000 clicks/month
  • 25 team members
  • 15 custom domains
  • 180-day analytics retention
  • 10 API keys (200 req/min), 25 webhooks
  • Priority email support

Unlimited Tier:

  • Unlimited links and clicks
  • Unlimited team members and custom domains
  • 365-day analytics retention
  • Unlimited API keys and webhooks (1,000 req/min)
  • Priority email + Slack support

Self-Hosted (Free):

  • Deploy LinkForty Core on your infrastructure
  • Unlimited everything, no usage limits
  • Full source code access (AGPL-3.0)
  • See Self-Hosting Guide