# Short Link Expander

> Short Link Expander is a paid API for AI agents from intel.rallylive.ca, paid per call via x402, $0.01/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-14).

Follows all redirects of a shortened or tracking URL and returns the final destination, full hop chain with status codes, final domain, and HTTPS status.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://intel.rallylive.ca/data/url-expand
- Price: $0.01/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-14
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/short-link-expander-b3b70353
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_IaBJ-UdXuP4Ol2jhW-RQr

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability short-link-expander-b3b70353
```

Example prompt: Can you expand this bit.ly link for me and show me where it actually goes, including all the redirects and whether the final destination uses HTTPS? The link is https://bit.ly/3xK9mRa

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need to safely inspect a shortened or tracking URL before interacting with it, want to audit the full redirect chain (not just the final URL), or need to verify HTTPS compliance at the final destination. Ideal for phishing screening, email campaign auditing, and debugging misconfigured short links. Prefer this over simple HEAD-request tools when intermediate hop status codes and the full chain matter.

## Known failure modes

- URL cannot be reached or times out — returns network error
- Redirect loop detected — chain resolution halted
- Input URL is malformed or missing — returns validation error
- Too many redirect hops — chain truncated or error returned
- Short link has expired or been deleted — returns 404 or dead-link status

## How this service works

Short link expander: follows every redirect of a bit.ly, t.co, tinyurl, goo.gl, git.io, lnkd.in or tracking link and returns the final destination URL, the hop chain with status codes, the final domain and whether it lands on HTTPS. Know where a link really goes. $0.01 per link.

## Output

Returns the final destination URL after all redirects, the complete hop chain including each intermediate URL and its HTTP status code, the final domain name, and a boolean indicating whether the final destination is served over HTTPS.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "required": [
  "input"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "enum": [
      "GET"
     ],
     "type": "string"
    },
    "queryParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {}
    }
   },
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object"
    }
   }
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/short-link-expander-b3b70353/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from intel.rallylive.ca](https://www.zero.xyz/host/intel.rallylive.ca/llms.txt)