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Create Invite Links from Your Server

Use case: your admin panel invites a user by email. The email contains an Openlynk link. When the recipient taps it, they open your app if it's installed, or go through install + deferred deep linking if it isn't.

You do not need a web SDK for this. Call the same create-link API the mobile SDKs use from your backend.

Prerequisites​

  1. An Openlynk app with store URLs and deep linking configured
  2. An SDK API Key from the dashboard (app → SDK API Key → Generate)
  3. A secure place to store the key on your server (env var / secrets manager)

Flow​

Admin panel → Your backend → POST /api/links/create-sdk
                                    ↓
                              link.url
                                    ↓
                         Invite email to user
                                    ↓
              User taps link → open app or download
curl -X POST https://openlynk.io/api/links/create-sdk \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENLYNK_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "destination": "/invite/USER_TOKEN",
    "metadata": {
      "invite_id": "USER_TOKEN",
      "utm_source": "email",
      "utm_medium": "invite"
    }
  }'

Successful response includes link.url — for example https://myapp.openlynk.to/1734567890-a1b2c3d4.

Put that URL in your invite email CTA. You do not need Openlynk to send the email; your admin panel keeps sending mail as it does today.

Example (Node.js)​

const res = await fetch('https://openlynk.io/api/links/create-sdk', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.OPENLYNK_API_KEY}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    destination: `/invite/${inviteId}`,
    metadata: {
      invite_id: inviteId,
      utm_source: 'email',
      utm_medium: 'invite',
    },
  }),
});

const data = await res.json();
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(data.error || 'Failed to create link');

const inviteUrl = data.link.url;
// Pass inviteUrl into your email template

Destination path​

destination must be a relative path starting with / (the in-app route you want after open/install). Examples:

  • /invite/abc123
  • /welcome?ref=admin
  • /onboarding/step-1

Do not pass a full https:// URL as destination.

App stateBehavior
InstalledApp opens and navigates to destination (via Universal Links / App Links + SDK)
Not installedUser is sent to the store; after install, deferred deep linking restores destination

Ensure your mobile app uses the Openlynk SDK so restore and deep-link handling work after install.

Security​

  • Call this API only from a trusted server, not from a public browser page
  • Store OPENLYNK_API_KEY in environment variables or a secrets manager
  • Never commit the key or put it in client-side JavaScript
  • Rotate the key in the dashboard if it leaks

:::note Same key as the mobile SDK Today, server and mobile share the same per-app ol_ key. Dedicated server-only keys are planned. Until then, treat the key carefully on both sides. :::

Rate limits and plan limits​

  • Rate limit: 10 requests per minute per IP for create-link
  • Plan limit: SDK-generated links count toward your plan's generated-link quota (403 when exceeded)

For bulk invites, batch or throttle create calls accordingly.