🔗 Dead Link Checker

Version 2.0 | Professional Website Link Analysis & Reporting Tool

A powerful desktop application for analyzing and reporting broken links on websites. Built with Python and CustomTkinter, packaged as a standalone Windows executable.

📋 Table of Contents

Features
Screenshots
Installation
- For End Users
- For Developers
Usage
Building from Source
Project Structure
Configuration
Reports
Troubleshooting
Contributing
License
Contact

✨ Features

Core Features

✅ Comprehensive Link Checking - Analyze unlimited links on any website
✅ Recursive Crawling - Follow internal links with configurable depth (1-5 levels)
✅ Real-time Progress - Live updates as links are being checked
✅ Concurrent Processing - Adjustable workers (5-50) for faster analysis
✅ Detailed Statistics - Total links, working, broken, and success rate

Report Generation

✅ Multiple Formats - Export reports in TXT, PDF, and CSV formats
✅ Professional PDF Reports - Tabular format with color-coded status
✅ CSV Export - Easy data analysis in Excel or other tools
✅ Automatic Naming - Reports saved with timestamp for easy tracking

User Interface

✅ Modern GUI - Clean, professional interface with dark mode
✅ Easy Configuration - Intuitive sliders and checkboxes
✅ Progress Monitoring - Real-time status updates and progress bar
✅ Statistics Dashboard - Live stats cards showing analysis results

Technical Features

✅ Standalone Executable - No Python installation required
✅ Professional Installer - Full installation wizard with shortcuts
✅ Version Information - Embedded metadata in executable
✅ Error Handling - Robust error handling and logging

📸 Screenshots

(Add screenshots of your application here)

💾 Installation

For End Users

Option 1: Using the Installer (Recommended)

Download the installer:
```
DeadLinkChecker_Setup_v2.0.exe
```
Run the installer by double-clicking it
Follow the installation wizard:
- Welcome screen
- Read quick start information
- Accept the license agreement
- Choose installation directory (default: C:\Program Files\DeadLinkChecker)
- Select Start Menu folder
- Choose additional shortcuts (Desktop, Quick Launch)
- Review installation summary
- Install
- Launch the application
Launch from:
- Start Menu → Dead Link Checker
- Desktop shortcut (if created)
- Installation directory

Option 2: Portable Executable

Download the standalone executable:
```
DeadLinkChecker_v2.0.exe
```
Place it in any folder
Double-click to run (no installation needed)

For Developers

See Building from Source section below.

🚀 Usage

Quick Start

Launch the application
Enter the website URL you want to analyze:
```
https://example.com
```
Configure analysis settings:
- Crawl Depth: 1 = Homepage only, 2+ = Follow internal links
- Concurrent Workers: 5-50 (higher = faster but more resource intensive)
- Timeout: 5-30 seconds per link
Select report formats:
- ☑ Generate Text Report (.txt)
- ☑ Generate PDF Report (.pdf)
- ☑ Generate CSV Report (.csv)
Click "Start Analysis"
Monitor progress in real-time:
- Status updates in the text area
- Progress bar showing completion
- Live statistics (Total, Working, Broken, Success Rate)
View results:
- Reports automatically saved in reports/ folder
- Click "Open Reports Folder" to access them

Advanced Usage

Crawl Depth Explained

Depth 1: Checks only links found on the homepage
Depth 2: Checks homepage + all internal pages linked from homepage
Depth 3: Goes 3 levels deep into the website
Depth 4-5: For comprehensive site-wide analysis

Workers Configuration

5-10 workers: Conservative, good for slower connections
10-20 workers: Balanced, recommended for most users
20-50 workers: Aggressive, for fast connections and large sites

Timeout Settings

5-10 seconds: For fast, reliable websites
10-20 seconds: Standard timeout for most sites
20-30 seconds: For slow or unreliable websites

🛠️ Building from Source

Prerequisites

Required Software

Python 3.8 or higher
- Download from: https://www.python.org/downloads/
- Make sure to check "Add Python to PATH" during installation
Inno Setup 6 (for creating the installer)
- Download from: https://jrsoftware.org/isdl.php
- Install to default location or note custom path
Git (optional, for cloning repository)
- Download from: https://git-scm.com/downloads

Python Dependencies

All dependencies are listed in build_tools/requirements.txt:

requests>=2.28.0 - HTTP requests
beautifulsoup4>=4.11.0 - HTML parsing
customtkinter>=5.2.0 - Modern GUI framework
pillow>=10.0.0 - Image support
reportlab>=4.0.0 - PDF generation
pyinstaller>=6.0.0 - Executable builder

Build Steps

Step 1: Get the Source Code

Option A: Clone from GitHub

git clone https://github.com/arif98741/deadlink-checker-python.git
cd deadlink-checker-python

Option B: Download ZIP

Download from GitHub
Extract to a folder
Open terminal in that folder

Step 2: Install Python Dependencies

cd build_tools
pip install -r requirements.txt

This installs all required packages including PyInstaller.

Step 3: Build the Application

Easy Way (Recommended):

From project root:

.\BUILD.ps1

Or from build_tools directory:

cd build_tools
.\build_installer.ps1

What happens:

✅ Checks Python dependencies
✅ Cleans previous builds
✅ Builds executable with PyInstaller (~3-5 minutes)
✅ Searches for Inno Setup
✅ Creates Windows installer (~30 seconds)

Output:

build_tools\dist\DeadLinkChecker_v2.0.exe          (Standalone executable)
installer_output\DeadLinkChecker_Setup_v2.0.exe    (Windows installer)

Manual Build

If you need more control or have Inno Setup in a custom location:

Build Executable Only

cd build_tools
pyinstaller --clean deadlink_gui.spec

Output: build_tools\dist\DeadLinkChecker_v2.0.exe

Build Installer Manually

If Inno Setup is in default location:

cd build_tools
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Inno Setup 6\ISCC.exe" installer_script.iss

If Inno Setup is in custom location (e.g., D: drive):

cd build_tools
&"D:\Inno Setup 6\ISCC.exe" installer_script.iss

cd build_tools; pwsh -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\version_manager.ps1 && pyinstaller --clean deadlink_gui.spec && & "D:\Inno Setup 6\ISCC.exe" installer_script.iss && cd ..

Or use the manual build script:

cd build_tools
.\build_installer_manual.ps1

This will prompt you for the ISCC.exe location.

Output: ..\installer_output\DeadLinkChecker_Setup_v2.0.exe

Build Configuration

Customizing the Build

Change Version Number:

Edit build_tools/deadlink_gui.spec:

name='DeadLinkChecker_v3.0',  # Change version here

Edit build_tools/version_info.txt:

filevers=(3, 0, 0, 0),  # Update version
prodvers=(3, 0, 0, 0),

Edit build_tools/installer_script.iss:

AppVersion=3.0
OutputBaseFilename=DeadLinkChecker_Setup_v3.0

Add Custom Icon:

Create or obtain an .ico file (256x256 recommended)
Save as build_tools/icon.ico
Uncomment in build_tools/installer_script.iss:
```
SetupIconFile=icon.ico
```
Uncomment in build_tools/deadlink_gui.spec:
```
icon='icon.ico',
```

Add Installer Banner Images:

Create images:
- installer_banner.bmp (164 x 314 pixels)
- installer_small.bmp (55 x 58 pixels)
Place in build_tools/ folder

Uncomment in installer_script.iss:

WizardImageFile=installer_banner.bmp
WizardSmallImageFile=installer_small.bmp

📁 Project Structure

deadlink-checker-python/
│
├── src/                          # Source Code
│   ├── deadlink_checker.py       # Core link checking logic
│   └── deadlink_gui.py           # GUI application
│
├── docs/                         # Documentation
│   ├── README.md                 # This file
│   ├── QUICKSTART.md             # Quick start guide
│   ├── LICENSE.txt               # MIT License
│   ├── BUILD_INSTALLER.md        # Build instructions
│   ├── BUILD_REFERENCE.txt       # Quick reference
│   ├── BUILD_FIXES.md            # Build fixes applied
│   ├── INSTALLATION_GUIDE.md     # Installation guide
│   ├── INSTALLER_SETUP_SUMMARY.md # Installer setup
│   ├── VERSIONED_FILENAME.md     # Versioning info
│   └── INSTALLER_WIZARD_GUIDE.md # Wizard documentation
│
├── build_tools/                  # Build Configuration
│   ├── build_installer.ps1       # Main build script
│   ├── build_installer.bat       # Batch wrapper
│   ├── build_installer_manual.ps1 # Manual build script
│   ├── build.ps1                 # Simple build script
│   ├── deadlink_gui.spec         # PyInstaller config
│   ├── installer_script.iss      # Inno Setup config
│   ├── version_info.txt          # Version metadata
│   ├── installation_complete.txt # Post-install info
│   └── requirements.txt          # Python dependencies
│
├── assets/                       # Assets & Resources
│   ├── sc.png                    # Screenshot
│   └── run_gui.bat               # Quick launcher
│
├── reports/                      # Generated Reports
│   └── .gitkeep                  # Keep directory in git
│
├── dist/                         # Built Executables (generated)
│   └── DeadLinkChecker_v2.0.exe
│
├── build/                        # Build artifacts (generated)
│
├── installer_output/             # Installers (generated)
│   └── DeadLinkChecker_Setup_v2.0.exe
│
├── .git/                         # Git repository
├── .gitignore                    # Git ignore rules
├── BUILD.ps1                     # Root build launcher
├── BUILD.bat                     # Root build launcher (batch)
├── restructure.ps1               # Project restructure script
├── restructure.bat               # Restructure launcher
├── RESTRUCTURE_GUIDE.md          # Restructure documentation
└── PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md          # Project structure guide

Key Directories

src/ - All Python source code
docs/ - All documentation files
build_tools/ - Build scripts and configuration
assets/ - Images, icons, and resources
reports/ - Output directory for generated reports
dist/ - Built executables (created by PyInstaller)
installer_output/ - Windows installers (created by Inno Setup)

⚙️ Configuration

Application Settings

Settings are configured through the GUI:

URL: Website to analyze
Crawl Depth: 1-5 levels
Workers: 5-50 concurrent threads
Timeout: 5-30 seconds
Report Formats: TXT, PDF, CSV

Build Configuration

Configuration files in build_tools/:

deadlink_gui.spec - PyInstaller configuration
- Hidden imports
- Executable name
- Version info
- Icon settings
installer_script.iss - Inno Setup configuration
- App information
- Installation directories
- Shortcuts
- Wizard pages
- Custom messages
version_info.txt - Windows version metadata
- File version
- Product version
- Company name
- Copyright

📊 Reports

Report Formats

Text Report (.txt)

Plain text format
Summary statistics
Detailed link list with status codes
Easy to read and share

PDF Report (.pdf)

Professional tabular format
Color-coded status (green/red)
Summary section
Detailed results table
Suitable for presentations

CSV Report (.csv)

Spreadsheet-compatible format
Columns: URL, Status Code, Status Text, Response Time, Link Type, Found On, Is Dead, Is External
Easy data analysis in Excel
Suitable for further processing

Report Location

Reports are saved in:

Installed version: C:\Program Files\DeadLinkChecker\reports\
Portable version: reports\ folder next to executable
Development: reports\ folder in project root

Report Naming

Reports are automatically named with timestamps:

deadlink_report_example_com_20260110_215637.txt
deadlink_report_example_com_20260110_215637.pdf
deadlink_report_example_com_20260110_215637.csv

Format: deadlink_report_[domain]_[YYYYMMDD]_[HHMMSS].[ext]

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Build Issues

"PyInstaller not found"

pip install pyinstaller

"Inno Setup not found"

Install from: https://jrsoftware.org/isdl.php
Or specify custom path in build script

"Module not found" during build

Add to deadlink_gui.spec under hiddenimports:

hiddenimports=[
    'your_missing_module',
],

Build fails with path errors

Make sure you're in the build_tools directory
Or use the root BUILD.ps1 script

Runtime Issues

Antivirus flags the executable

This is a false positive (common with PyInstaller)
Add exception in antivirus software
Or submit to antivirus vendor as false positive

"Windows protected your PC" message

Click "More info"
Click "Run anyway"
This happens because the executable is not code-signed

Application doesn't start

Check if antivirus blocked it
Try running from command line to see errors
Check Windows Event Viewer for error details

Reports not saving

Check folder permissions
Make sure reports/ folder exists
Check disk space

Installation Issues

Installer won't run

Right-click → "Run as administrator"
Check antivirus settings
Download installer again (may be corrupted)

Installation fails

Check disk space (need ~100 MB)
Close other applications
Try different installation directory

Getting Help

If you encounter issues:

Check Documentation
- Read relevant .md files in docs/ folder
- Check BUILD_FIXES.md for known issues
Check Logs
- PyInstaller logs in build output
- Inno Setup logs in installer output
- Application logs (if implemented)
Report Issues
- GitHub Issues: https://github.com/arif98741/deadlink-checker-python/issues
- Include:
  - Error message
  - Steps to reproduce
  - System information (Windows version, Python version)
  - Screenshots if applicable

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

Reporting Bugs

Check if the bug is already reported in Issues
Create a new issue with:
- Clear title
- Detailed description
- Steps to reproduce
- Expected vs actual behavior
- Screenshots/logs if applicable

Suggesting Features

Check if the feature is already requested
Create a new issue with:
- Clear description of the feature
- Use case / why it's needed
- Proposed implementation (optional)

Code Contributions

Fork the repository

Create a feature branch:

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

Make your changes
Test thoroughly

Commit with clear messages:

git commit -m "Add: feature description"

Push to your fork:

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Create a Pull Request

Development Setup

Clone the repository

Install dependencies:

cd build_tools
pip install -r requirements.txt

Make changes in src/ directory
Test by running:
```
python src/deadlink_gui.py
```
Build to test executable:
```
cd build_tools
.\build_installer.ps1
```

📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 arif98741

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

See LICENSE.txt for full license text.

📞 Contact

Author: arif98741
Website: https://devtobox.com
GitHub: https://github.com/arif98741/deadlink-checker-python
Issues: https://github.com/arif98741/deadlink-checker-python/issues

🙏 Acknowledgments

CustomTkinter - Modern GUI framework
PyInstaller - Executable builder
Inno Setup - Windows installer creator
ReportLab - PDF generation
Beautiful Soup - HTML parsing
Requests - HTTP library

📈 Version History

Version 2.0 (Current)

✅ Complete GUI redesign with modern interface
✅ Added CSV export functionality
✅ Real-time progress updates
✅ Professional Windows installer
✅ Versioned executable filenames
✅ Website link in header (devtobox.com)
✅ Improved error handling
✅ Comprehensive documentation

Version 1.0

✅ Basic link checking functionality
✅ TXT and PDF report generation
✅ Command-line interface
✅ Simple GUI

🎯 Roadmap

Future enhancements planned:

⭐ Star History

If you find this project useful, please consider giving it a star on GitHub!

Built with ❤️ by arif98741

Version 2.0

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 8 Commits
assets		assets
build_tools		build_tools
docs		docs
reports		reports
src		src
.gitignore		.gitignore
BUILD.bat		BUILD.bat
BUILD.ps1		BUILD.ps1
PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md		PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md
README.md		README.md
RESTRUCTURE_GUIDE.md		RESTRUCTURE_GUIDE.md
build_installer_new.ps1		build_installer_new.ps1
restructure.bat		restructure.bat
restructure.ps1		restructure.ps1

arif98741/deadlink-checker-python

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🔗 Dead Link Checker

📋 Table of Contents

✨ Features

Core Features

Report Generation

User Interface

Technical Features

📸 Screenshots

💾 Installation

For End Users

Option 1: Using the Installer (Recommended)

Option 2: Portable Executable

For Developers

🚀 Usage

Quick Start

Advanced Usage

Crawl Depth Explained

Workers Configuration

Timeout Settings

🛠️ Building from Source

Prerequisites

Required Software

Python Dependencies

Build Steps

Step 1: Get the Source Code

Step 2: Install Python Dependencies

Step 3: Build the Application

Manual Build

Build Executable Only

Build Installer Manually

Build Configuration

Customizing the Build

📁 Project Structure

Key Directories

⚙️ Configuration

Application Settings

Build Configuration

📊 Reports

Report Formats

Text Report (.txt)

PDF Report (.pdf)

CSV Report (.csv)

Report Location

Report Naming

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Build Issues

Runtime Issues

Installation Issues

Getting Help

🤝 Contributing

Reporting Bugs

Suggesting Features

Code Contributions

Development Setup

📜 License

📞 Contact

🙏 Acknowledgments

📈 Version History

Version 2.0 (Current)

Version 1.0

🎯 Roadmap

⭐ Star History

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