How to check if a URL is valid and reachable

You have a URL and you need to know if it actually works - not just whether it's formatted correctly, but whether it responds. Here's how to do it with a single API call.

The problem

Validating URLs with a regex tells you almost nothing. A URL can be perfectly formatted and still return a 404, redirect to a completely different domain, or time out entirely. You need to actually send a request.

But making outbound HTTP requests from your application adds complexity: timeout handling, redirect following, error categorisation, and rate limiting. TinyUtils handles all of that for you.

Quick solution

Send a GET request to /api/url-check with the URL you want to validate. You get back a structured response telling you exactly what happened.

curl "https://tinyutils.dev/api/url-check?url=https://example.com"

{
  "reachable": true,
  "status": 200,
  "final_url": "https://example.com/",
  "response_time_ms": 215,
  "error": null
}

const res = await fetch(
  "https://tinyutils.dev/api/url-check?url=https://example.com"
);
const { reachable, status, final_url } = await res.json();

if (!reachable) {
  console.error("URL is not reachable");
}

Use cases

• •Validate user-submitted URLs before saving to your database
• •Check if webhook URLs are live before enabling them
• •Verify outbound links in your CMS aren't broken
• •Audit imported datasets for dead URLs
• •Test integration endpoints in staging environments

Checking multiple URLs at once

Use the batch endpoint to check up to 10 URLs in a single request.

curl -X POST "https://tinyutils.dev/api/url-check/batch" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"urls":["https://example.com","https://broken.example.com"]}'