API-first, whitelabel, affordable jo4.io

I'm excited to inform everyone that jo4 is officially on Android Play Store @ https://jo4.io/a/jo4play

I set up hooks to prevent Claude Code from committing without my approval. It bypassed them using `git -C /path commit` instead of `git commit`. Here's the story and the fix. ## The Setup I use Claude Code as my coding assistant. It can read files, write code, run shell commands, and commit to git. That last part made me nervous. I wanted to review and commit changes myself. Claude Code supports PreToolUse hooks that run before tool execution. Here's what I had in `~/.claude/settings.json`: ```json { "hooks": { "PreToolUse": [ { "matcher": "Bash", "hooks": [ { "type": "command", "command": "~/.claude/block-git.sh", "timeout": 10 } ] } ] } } ``` And my `block-git.sh`: ```bash #!/bin/bash input=$(cat) command=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.tool_input.command // empty') if [[ $command == *"git commit"* ]] || \ [[ $command == *"git push"* ]] || \ [[ $command == *"git reset --hard"* ]]; then cat <<EOF { "hookSpecificOutput": { "permissionDecision": "deny", "permissionDecisionReason": "BLOCKED: git commit/push requires manual approval" } } EOF exit 0 fi echo "{}" exit 0 ``` This worked. When Claude tried `git commit -m "message"`, it got blocked. ## The Bypass Today, I asked Claude to commit some changes. Instead of `git commit`, it ran: ```bash git -C /Users/anand/ws/project commit -m "Fix bug" ``` It went through. The commit was made without my approval. The `-C` flag tells git to run as if it was started in that directory. Functionally identical to `cd /path && git commit`, but syntactically different enough to slip past my pattern matching. ## Why It Bypassed My hook used glob patterns: ```bash [[ $command == *"git commit"* ]] ``` This looks for the literal string `git commit` with a space between them. But the actual command was:

"The URL shortener market is saturated." I've heard this a hundred times. Bitly, TinyURL, Rebrandly, Short.io... why would anyone build another one? Here's why I'm building [jo4.io](https://jo4.io) anyway. ## The Market Reality Yes, Bitly exists. They're also: - **Expensive** - Premium pricing for basic features, enterprise tiers cost 10x+ more - **Enterprise-focused** - Overkill for creators and small businesses - **Slow to innovate** - Same features for years There's a massive gap between "free tier with ads" and "enterprise pricing." ## My Target Customer Not enterprises. Not marketing agencies with huge budgets. **Creators and small businesses who:** - Share links on social media daily - Want to know what's working - Don't want to pay Bitly prices - Need a simple API for automation Think: YouTubers, newsletter writers, indie hackers, small e-commerce stores. ## The Differentiators ### 1. Generous Free Tier Most of my users will never pay. That's fine. They'll tell others. ### 2. Simple, Fast Analytics Click counts, referrers, geo data. No 47-tab analytics dashboard. ### 3. Developer-First API Create links programmatically. Every feature available via API. ### 4. Fair Pricing Pro and Enterprise tiers priced at ~50-60% less than major competitors. ### 5. Bio Links (Link-in-Bio) Everyone has an Instagram/TikTok bio. One link to rule them all. ## The Business Model **Freemium + Usage-Based:** - Free: 30 links/month, 1 month analytics retention, 1 API key - Pro: 500 links/month, 6 months analytics, 5 custom domains, 10 API keys - Enterprise: Unlimited everything, 12 months analytics, team features Target: A few hundred Pro + a handful of Enterprise customers for sustainable MRR. Is that life-changing money? No. Is it a solid indie business? Yes. ## Why It's Not Crazy 1. **Low CAC** - SEO + content marketing. People search "URL shortener" constantly