Developer Tool

Deep Link Generator

Generate Android intent URLs and iOS universal links for app navigation, marketing campaigns, and cross-platform linking. No account required — everything runs in your browser.

Input

Link Configuration

Scheme

Custom URL scheme without ://

Host

Path

Package Name *

Fallback URL (optional)

Redirect to this URL if the app is not installed

Query Parameters

Key-value pairs appended to the URL

Preview

Output

Platform

Android

Query Params

Link Length

TL;DR Summary

Enter your app scheme, host, path, and package name to generate a ready-to-use Android intent URL or iOS deep link. Query parameters are encoded automatically.

Android Intent URL

Live Preview

All deep links are generated client-side. Query parameters are percent-encoded automatically per RFC 3986.

Quick Summary

What This Tool Does

What: Generates platform-specific deep links — Android intent URLs and iOS universal links — in your browser with no account or server required.
Who: Mobile developers, growth marketers, and QA engineers who need valid deep links for campaigns, push notifications, QR codes, or in-app navigation testing.
Why: Opening the app home screen and navigating to content takes 2–5 additional taps after the link tap — each one a potential exit point. Deep links eliminate that entire path, landing the user directly at the intended screen.

What Is a Deep Link?

A deep link is a URL that navigates a user directly to a specific screen or state inside a mobile app, rather than opening the app's home screen. Deep links carry context — product IDs, search queries, referral codes, or navigation paths — directly to the app at launch.

Deep links are used across mobile marketing campaigns, push notifications, email links, QR codes, and in-app cross-navigation. When the app is not installed, a well-formed deep link can fall back to a web page or the app store.

Each navigation step between a link tap and the target action carries its own exit probability. A deep link collapses the post-click path to a single step: the user taps the link and arrives at the destination. A home-screen redirect adds 2–5 additional taps to reach the same content — and each of those taps is a moment where the user can abandon. This is why production mobile teams deep-link by default in push notifications, email, and paid campaigns.

Why Deep Linking Matters

Deep links improve mobile outcomes not through any single technique but through a straightforward mechanical advantage: they reduce the number of steps between a user's expressed intent and the action the product needs them to take.

Post-Click Path Length

1 step

A deep link lands the user directly on the target screen in one step. Reaching the same screen from the home screen typically requires 2–5 additional taps, each with its own abandonment rate.

Orientation Required

None

A deep-linked user arrives at a screen pre-populated with the content they acted on. No searching, no re-navigating. The user is already at the destination they intended to reach.

Mobile Time in Apps

Over 80%

Over 80% of mobile screen time is spent inside apps rather than mobile browsers, making in-app routing the primary user journey surface across all major mobile product categories.

For growth teams, reducing post-click path length directly improves the signal between ad spend and in-app action. For product teams, deep links provide explicit control over every post-click landing state. For developers, intent URLs and universal links are standardised, versioned specifications that behave predictably across OS releases.

Android Deep Links Explained

Intent URLs

Android intent URLs use the format intent://HOST/PATH#Intent;scheme=SCHEME;package=PACKAGE;end. They instruct Android to open a specific app component. The S.browser_fallback_url parameter tells the browser where to redirect if the app is not installed. Intent URLs are the standard format for inter-app linking on Android.

Android App Links

Android App Links use verified HTTPS URLs with a Digital Asset Links file hosted at /.well-known/assetlinks.json. When the association is verified, Android opens the app directly without showing a disambiguation dialog. App Links require HTTPS and domain ownership verification.

Common Use Cases

Email and SMS marketing campaigns linking to a specific product or offer
Push notifications navigating users to a targeted in-app screen
QR codes on physical materials opening a digital experience
Web-to-app handoffs during checkout, authentication, or onboarding

iOS Deep Links Explained

Custom URL Schemes

Custom URL schemes follow the format myapp://host/path?params. The scheme is registered by the app in its Info.plist. iOS routes URLs with that prefix to the registered app. Custom schemes have no HTTPS requirement and work offline, but they do not support domain verification or disambiguation.

Universal Links

Universal Links are standard HTTPS URLs that iOS can route to an app when it is installed and the domain hosts an Apple App Site Association (AASA) file at /.well-known/apple-app-site-association. If the app is not installed, the URL opens in Safari normally. Universal Links are the recommended approach for iOS because they fall back gracefully.

Common Use Cases

App Store redirect when custom scheme link fails
Email campaigns linking to user-specific content
Shared content URLs that open in-app or fall back to a web view
Re-engagement push notifications with specific destination screens

Deep Links vs Universal Links vs App Links

The term "deep link" covers several distinct technologies that differ by platform, verification requirement, and fallback behavior. Choosing the right type depends on your target OS, whether you control the associated domain, and whether a graceful browser fallback is required.

Attribute	Custom Scheme	Universal Links (iOS)	App Links (Android)
Platform	iOS & Android	iOS 9+	Android 6.0+
Protocol	`myapp://` custom prefix	HTTPS only	HTTPS only
Fallback (app not installed)	Error or no-op on most platforms	Opens in Safari (graceful)	Opens in browser (graceful)
Verification Required	None	AASA file at `/.well-known/`	Digital Asset Links JSON
Disambiguation Dialog	May appear on Android	None — opens directly	None — opens directly
Best Use Case	Dev/testing, no domain needed	Production apps, marketing	Production apps, SEO linking

For production use, Universal Links (iOS) and App Links (Android) are recommended over custom schemes because they provide verified domain ownership, graceful browser fallback, and no disambiguation prompt.

Deep Link Use Cases

Production mobile teams deep-link push notification taps to the relevant in-app screen as a default practice, not an optimisation — because landing the user in context eliminates all post-tap navigation and directly connects the notification message to its intended action. Email and SMS campaigns follow the same principle: the link should deliver the user to the specific content referenced in the message, not a generic entry point.

Mobile App Marketing: Attach deep links to email campaigns, SMS blasts, and social posts to land users on a specific offer, product, or screen rather than the home page.
Push Notifications: Link notification taps directly to the relevant in-app screen, avoiding unnecessary navigation steps and reducing drop-off.
QR Codes: Generate deep links for QR codes on packaging, billboards, or event materials that open a specific app experience when scanned.
Referral Programs: Encode referral codes as query parameters in deep links to attribute installs and in-app conversions to specific referral sources.
App-to-App Navigation: Use intent URLs or custom schemes to link between apps on the same device, enabling cross-product navigation flows.
Deferred Deep Links: Combine a fallback URL with a deep link so users who install the app after tapping a link land on the right screen after first launch.

How to Generate a Deep Link: Step-by-Step

The tool generates a ready-to-use deep link as you type — no page reload, no submission. Complete all five steps and the output link is immediately ready to copy and deploy.

1

Select the target platform

Click the Android or iOS tab to choose your target. Android generates an intent URL (intent://...). iOS generates both a custom scheme link and a universal link.

Expected output: The form fields and output panel switch to the correct format for the selected platform.
2

Enter the scheme, host, and path

Type your app's URL scheme (e.g. myapp), the host authority (e.g. example.com), and the path to the target screen (e.g. /product/123). The link preview updates live.

Expected output: A partial deep link appears instantly in the Output panel reflecting your scheme, host, and path.
3

Add package name (Android) or bundle ID (iOS)

For Android, enter the package name (e.g. com.example.myapp) — required for Android intent routing. Optionally add a fallback URL to redirect users to the Play Store if the app is not installed. For iOS, the bundle ID is for reference only.

Expected output: The Android intent URL now includes the package= and S.browser_fallback_url= segments.
4

Add query parameters (optional)

Click Add Param to append key-value pairs. Use these to pass product IDs, referral codes, UTM campaign values, or user-specific tokens to the app at launch. Values are percent-encoded automatically per RFC 3986.

Expected output: A ?key=value query string appears in the link, with all special characters safely encoded.
5

Copy the link and deploy it

Click Copy to Clipboard or the individual Copy button next to each output. Paste the intent URL or universal link directly into your app's navigation logic, email campaign, push notification payload, or QR code generator.

Expected output: A valid, ready-to-use deep link is in your clipboard and can be tested immediately by pasting into a browser or Android/iOS simulator.

How This Deep Link Generator Works

This tool runs entirely client-side in your browser. No data is sent to a server, logged remotely, or stored at any point. The following steps happen locally each time an input field changes:

Input parsing and validation

Each field is read and trimmed on every keystroke. Android requires a package name for intent routing — the tool surfaces an inline error if it is missing. iOS requires a scheme. Validation is synchronous and never contacts an external service.

Query parameter encoding (RFC 3986)

Key-value pairs are percent-encoded using encodeURIComponent(), which implements the UTF-8 percent-encoding rules defined in RFC 3986, Section 2.1. This ensures that spaces, special characters, Unicode values, and reserved symbols are safely embedded in the URL query string.

Android intent URL construction

The tool assembles the URL in the format intent://HOST/PATH?QUERY#Intent;scheme=SCHEME;package=PACKAGE;S.browser_fallback_url=FALLBACK;end. This follows the Android Intent URL specification and is compatible with Chrome for Android and Chromium-based browsers. The S.browser_fallback_url segment is only included when a fallback URL is entered.

iOS custom scheme construction

The custom scheme link is built as SCHEME://HOST/PATH?QUERY. The scheme must match the value registered in your app's Info.plist under CFBundleURLSchemes for iOS to route it to the correct app.

iOS universal link construction

The universal link is a standard HTTPS URL formed by appending the path and encoded query string to the provided base domain. The resulting URL must match a path entry in your domain's apple-app-site-association file for iOS to route it to your app rather than opening Safari.

Built following official platform specifications:

Android Developer Docs — Intent URL syntax, App Link verification flow, and Digital Asset Links (assetlinks.json) specification. Used to implement the correct intent fragment structure and fallback URL encoding.
Apple Developer Docs — Universal Links setup guide, Apple App Site Association (AASA) file format, and CFBundleURLSchemes registration. Used to construct valid iOS scheme and universal link outputs.
RFC 3986 (IETF) — URI Generic Syntax, including the percent-encoding rules applied to all query parameter keys and values generated by this tool.
Chrome for Android Intent Syntax — Google's extension to the intent:// scheme, documenting the S.browser_fallback_url and package= parameters used in the Android output.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a deep link?

A deep link is a URL that opens a specific screen or state inside a mobile app. Unlike a regular link that opens an app's home screen, a deep link carries navigation context — a product ID, a page path, or query parameters — directly to the target destination within the app.

What is an Android intent URL?

An Android intent URL is a formatted string that encodes the information Android needs to open a specific app and navigate to a screen. The format is intent://HOST/PATH#Intent;scheme=SCHEME;package=PACKAGE;end. Android reads the intent parameters to resolve which app to open. If the app is not installed, the S.browser_fallback_url parameter redirects the browser to a fallback page.

What is an iOS universal link?

An iOS universal link is a standard HTTPS URL that iOS can open in an app when the app is installed and the domain hosts an Apple App Site Association file. If the app is not installed, the URL opens in Safari as a regular webpage. Universal links are preferred over custom schemes because they fall back gracefully without showing an error.

How do deep links work?

When a user taps a deep link, the operating system checks whether a registered app can handle the URL's scheme or domain. On Android, the intent resolution system matches the package name and scheme. On iOS, either the scheme registry or the Apple App Site Association file determines which app handles the URL. The app receives the URL and navigates to the specified path with the given parameters.

What is the difference between a deep link and a universal link?

A deep link is a broad term for any link that navigates to content inside an app. A universal link is a specific iOS technology that uses verified HTTPS URLs. Universal links are a type of deep link, but not all deep links are universal links. On Android, the equivalent is called an App Link.

Is this tool safe to use?

Yes. All link generation runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. No input data is transmitted to a server, stored remotely, or logged. The generated links exist only in your browser session until you copy them.

What are query parameters in a deep link?

Query parameters are key-value pairs appended after a ? in the URL. They pass additional data to the app at launch. Common uses include product IDs, referral codes, UTM campaign parameters, and user-specific tokens. This tool encodes query parameter values automatically using percent-encoding per RFC 3986.

References & Standards

→
Android Developer Docs: Deep Linking — Official Android documentation covering intent filters, deep link handling, and App Link verification with Digital Asset Links.
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Apple Developer Docs: Universal Links — Official Apple documentation on configuring universal links with the Apple App Site Association file and handling URLs in your iOS app.
→
Chrome for Android: Intents — Google Chrome documentation on Android intent URL syntax, including the browser_fallback_url parameter for handling missing app installations.
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RFC 3986: URI Generic Syntax — The IETF standard defining URI structure, percent-encoding rules, and query string formatting used in all deep link generation.
→
Android Developer Docs: App Links — Official guide to verified Android App Links using Digital Asset Links (assetlinks.json), covering domain verification and the elimination of disambiguation dialogs.
→
Apple Developer Docs: CFBundleURLSchemes — Official documentation for registering custom URL schemes in an iOS app's Info.plist, which is the required step for custom scheme deep links to be routed by iOS.
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WHATWG URL Living Standard — The living specification for URL parsing, serialization, and encoding that complements RFC 3986, maintained by the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group and implemented in all major browsers.

Published: April 25, 2026 · Last updated: April 25, 2026 · Last reviewed: April 2026 · Built following Android Intent URL syntax and Apple Universal Link standards.