Migrating from Bitly

A Bitly link has one destination. In DL2App the same link can also open your app, so the import brings your links across as they are and you then add the app behaviour where you want it. The same importer handles Rebrandly and Short.io.

How the import works

1. Open your project, then Links, then Import, and pick the source.
2. Give it your links (how depends on the source, below).
3. Review. Every row says what will be created, and rows with problems say why. Nothing is created until you confirm, and existing links are never overwritten: a slug that is already used is either skipped or given a suffix, your choice.
4. Import. Rejected rows can be downloaded as a CSV to fix and retry.

Imported links go through the same destination checks as links you create by hand, and count towards new-account limits.

Giving it your links

• By API token. In Bitly: Settings, then API, then “Generate token”. Paste it into the import form. It is used once to read your links and is not stored.
• From a CSV export, if you prefer not to share a token.

What is kept

• The slug (the part after the slash), the title, tags, the creation date and whether the link was archived.
• The destination, which becomes the link’s desktop and fallback URL. You choose in the form whether phones go to the same URL or to your app.

Keeping the same addresses

• Links on your own branded domain can keep their exact addresses: import them, add the domain to your project as a custom domain, then repoint its DNS record. Do the import first so no link is missing at the moment you switch.
• Links on bit.ly cannot move; that domain is Bitly’s. They keep working there for as long as Bitly serves them. Use the imported copies for anything new.

After the import

Click history does not come across; counting starts when the link goes live here. To turn a plain link into an app link, open it and set an app path. See links and routing.