From 1be89db43bd81e0390bb5d1ebbcd07aedbe44854 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: SinTan1729 <sayantan.santra689@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2025 00:27:05 +0530
Subject: [PATCH] docs: Add info about expand route, and put API as preferred
 method

---
 README.md | 62 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------------------------
 1 file changed, 34 insertions(+), 28 deletions(-)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3fc90ee..bacd838 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -162,6 +162,40 @@ below, replace `http://localhost:4567` with where your instance of `chhoto-url`
 You can get the version of `chhoto-url` the server is running using `curl http://localhost:4567/api/version` and
 get the siteurl using `curl http://localhost:4567/api/siteurl`. These routes are accessible without any authentication.
 
+### API key validation
+**This is required for programs that rely on a JSON response from Chhoto URL**
+
+In order to use API key validation, set the `api_key` environment variable. If this is not set, the API will default to cookie
+validation (see section above). If the API key is insecure, a warning will be outputted along with a generated API key which may be used.
+
+Example Linux command for generating a secure API key: `tr -dc A-Za-z0-9 </dev/urandom | head -c 128`
+
+To add a link:
+``` bash
+curl -X POST -H "X-API-Key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" -d '{"shortlink":"<shortlink>", "longlink":"<longlink>"}' http://localhost:4567/api/new
+```
+Send an empty `<shortlink>` if you want it to be auto-generated. The server will reply with the generated shortlink.
+
+To get information about a single shortlink:
+``` bash
+curl -H "X-API-Key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" -d '<shortlink>' http://localhost:4567/api/expand
+```
+(This route is not accessible using cookie validation.)
+
+To get a list of all the currently available links:
+``` bash
+curl -H "X-API-Key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" http://localhost:4567/api/all
+```
+
+To delete a link:
+``` bash
+curl -X DELETE -H "X-API-Key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" http://localhost:4567/api/del/<shortlink>
+```
+Where `<shortlink>` is name of the shortened link you would like to delete. For example, if the shortened link is
+`http://localhost:4567/example`, `<shortlink>` would be `example`.
+
+The server will output when the instance is accessed over API, when an incorrect API key is received, etc.
+
 ### Cookie validation
 If you have set up a password, first do the following to get an authentication cookie and store it in a file.
 ```bash
@@ -187,34 +221,6 @@ curl -X DELETE http://localhost:4567/api/del/<shortlink>
 ```
 The server will send a confirmation.
 
-### API key validation
-**This is required for programs that rely on a JSON response from Chhoto URL**
-
-In order to use API key validation, set the `api_key` environment variable. If this is not set, the API will default to cookie
-validation (see section above). If the API key is insecure, a warning will be outputted along with a generated API key which may be used.
-
-Example Linux command for generating a secure API key: `tr -dc A-Za-z0-9 </dev/urandom | head -c 128`
-
-To add a link:
-``` bash
-curl -X POST -H "X-API-Key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" -d '{"shortlink":"<shortlink>", "longlink":"<longlink>"}' http://localhost:4567/api/new
-```
-Send an empty `<shortlink>` if you want it to be auto-generated. The server will reply with the generated shortlink.
-
-To get a list of all the currently available links:
-``` bash
-curl -H "X-API-Key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" http://localhost:4567/api/all
-```
-
-To delete a link:
-``` bash
-curl -X DELETE -H "X-API-Key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" http://localhost:4567/api/del/<shortlink>
-```
-Where `<shortlink>` is name of the shortened link you would like to delete. For example, if the shortened link is
-`http://localhost:4567/example`, `<shortlink>` would be `example`.
-
-The server will output when the instance is accessed over API, when an incorrect API key is received, etc.
-
 ## Disable authentication
 If you do not define a password environment variable when starting the docker image, authentication
 will be disabled.