Link types

A short link doesn't have to point at a web page. The linkType field lets one short link resolve to an email, phone, or SMS action — the API composes the correct URI for you from structured fields, so you never have to hand-encode a mailto: string. Requires links:write. Available on all tiers.

linkType	Destination	Required fields	Optional fields
url	A web URL (default)	longUrl	—
mailto	An email compose	email	subject, body
tel	A phone dial	phone	—
sms	An SMS compose	phone	—

When linkType is omitted it defaults to url and behaves exactly like a normal short link.

Create a mailto link

curl -X POST https://api.short.leonai.io/api/v1/links \
  -H "X-API-Key: $LEONAI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "linkType": "mailto",
    "email": "sales@example.com",
    "subject": "Demo request",
    "body": "Hi, I would like a demo."
  }'

Response (201 Created):

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "id": "link_...",
    "shortCode": "a1b2c3",
    "shortUrl": "https://short.leonai.io/a1b2c3",
    "linkType": "mailto",
    "longUrl": "mailto:sales@example.com?subject=Demo%20request&body=Hi%2C%20I%20would%20like%20a%20demo.",
    "clicks": 0,
    "createdAt": "2026-07-11T12:00:00.000Z"
  }
}

The API assembles and percent-encodes the final mailto: URI (shown in longUrl).

Create a tel / sms link

curl -X POST https://api.short.leonai.io/api/v1/links \
  -H "X-API-Key: $LEONAI_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "linkType": "tel", "phone": "+15551234567" }'

Use "linkType": "sms" with the same phone field to compose an SMS instead. The composed URI becomes tel:+15551234567 (or sms:+15551234567).

Error codes

Status	When
400	Missing the field required for the chosen linkType (e.g. email for mailto, phone for tel/sms), or a malformed email/phone

Related

• Links — all other link fields and operations
• API Reference — the full OpenAPI spec and Swagger UI