LinkCheckr

LinkCheckr is a web application for verifying the status of all links on a given webpage. It checks for broken or inaccessible links and provides a summary report, making it an essential tool for web developers, SEO specialists, and website administrators.

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Why LinkCheckr?

• Efficient Link Validation: Automatically scans webpages and checks the status of every link.
• User-Friendly Interface: Clear categorization of working and broken links with easy navigation.
• Dynamic Content Handling: Uses Selenium to render JavaScript-heavy pages for accurate link extraction.
• Restricted Domain Awareness: Warns users about domains that block automated link checking.

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Features

• Verifies links dynamically loaded via JavaScript.
• Provides summaries of total, working, and broken links.
• Highlights links from restricted domains like LinkedIn or X (formerly Twitter).
• Offers a clean, responsive interface for URL submission and results display.

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Getting Started

Follow these steps to set up and run LinkCheckr on your local machine.

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Prerequisites

1. Frontend:

   • Node.js installed (Download Node.js)
   • A modern web browser.

2. Backend:

   • Python 3.7 or higher installed (Download Python)
   • Google Chrome and ChromeDriver installed (Install ChromeDriver).

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Installation and Setup

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/victoriaEssien/linkcheckr.git
   cd linkcheckr

2. Frontend Setup:

   • Navigate to the frontend directory:

     cd frontend

   • Install dependencies:

     npm install

   • Create an .env file in the frontend directory with your API base URL:

     VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost:5000

   • Start the development server:

     npm run dev

3. Backend Setup:

   • Navigate to the backend directory:

     cd backend

   • Create a virtual environment:

     python -m venv venv
     source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

   • Install dependencies:

     pip install -r requirements.txt

   • Run the Flask server:

     python app.py

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Running the Application

1. Start the backend server:

   python app.py

   This starts the Flask API server at http://localhost:5000.

2. Start the frontend:

   npm run dev

   The frontend will be available at http://localhost:5173.

3. Open the application in your browser and enter a URL to check its links.

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Technologies Used

• Frontend: React, Vite, TailwindCSS, Lucide Icons
• Backend: Flask, Selenium, BeautifulSoup, Requests
• Database/State: In-memory processing

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Notes

• Ensure ChromeDriver is compatible with your installed version of Google Chrome.
• Restricted domains like LinkedIn and Twitter prevent automated link checking.
• Adjust the wait_time parameter in app.py for sites with slow dynamic content loading.

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Contribution

Feel free to fork this repository and make your own modifications. Contributions are welcome! Submit a pull request for review.