diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 70737010..78d1a466 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,3 +3,4 @@ tmp/
 node_modules/
 *bundle.js
 npm-debug.log
+config/secrets.yml
diff --git a/.rspec b/.rspec
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..83e16f80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.rspec
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+--color
+--require spec_helper
diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index 5d1817a7..6a661460 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ gem 'sass-rails', '~> 5.0'
 gem 'httparty', '0.13.7'
 gem 'exception_notification', '~> 4.1'
 gem 'rails_logger', git: 'git@git.liveramp.net:RailsRepos/rails_logger.git'
+gem 'mysql2', '~> 0.4'
+gem 'validate_url', '~> 1.0'
 
 group :development, :test do
   gem 'capybara'
@@ -27,7 +29,9 @@ group :development, :test do
   gem 'awesome_print'
   gem 'passenger', '~> 5.0'
 end
+
 group :test do
+  gem 'rspec-rails'
   gem 'rack_session_access', '~> 0.1.1'
   gem 'selenium-webdriver'
   gem 'shoulda'
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index d7259102..ecb10718 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ GEM
       ffi (~> 1.0, >= 1.0.11)
     coderay (1.1.1)
     concurrent-ruby (1.0.5)
+    diff-lcs (1.3)
     erubis (2.7.0)
     exception_notification (4.2.1)
       actionmailer (>= 4.0, < 6)
@@ -117,6 +118,7 @@ GEM
     minitest (5.10.1)
     multi_json (1.12.1)
     multi_xml (0.5.5)
+    mysql2 (0.4.4)
     newrelic_rpm (3.16.2.321)
     nio4r (1.2.1)
     nokogiri (1.7.0.1)
@@ -162,7 +164,7 @@ GEM
       method_source
       rake (>= 0.8.7)
       thor (>= 0.18.1, < 2.0)
-    rake (12.0.0)
+    rake (12.3.1)
     redis (3.3.2)
     redis-actionpack (5.0.1)
       actionpack (>= 4.0, < 6)
@@ -181,6 +183,23 @@ GEM
     redis-store (1.2.0)
       redis (>= 2.2)
     request_store (1.3.1)
+    rspec-core (3.5.4)
+      rspec-support (~> 3.5.0)
+    rspec-expectations (3.5.0)
+      diff-lcs (>= 1.2.0, < 2.0)
+      rspec-support (~> 3.5.0)
+    rspec-mocks (3.5.0)
+      diff-lcs (>= 1.2.0, < 2.0)
+      rspec-support (~> 3.5.0)
+    rspec-rails (3.5.1)
+      actionpack (>= 3.0)
+      activesupport (>= 3.0)
+      railties (>= 3.0)
+      rspec-core (~> 3.5.0)
+      rspec-expectations (~> 3.5.0)
+      rspec-mocks (~> 3.5.0)
+      rspec-support (~> 3.5.0)
+    rspec-support (3.5.0)
     ruby-saml (1.4.1)
       nokogiri (>= 1.5.10)
     rubyzip (1.2.0)
@@ -219,6 +238,9 @@ GEM
     uglifier (2.7.2)
       execjs (>= 0.3.0)
       json (>= 1.8.0)
+    validate_url (1.0.2)
+      activemodel (>= 3.0.0)
+      addressable
     websocket (1.2.3)
     websocket-driver (0.6.5)
       websocket-extensions (>= 0.1.0)
@@ -243,6 +265,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   jquery-rails (~> 4.1)
   jquery-ui-rails (~> 5.0)
   letter_opener
+  mysql2 (~> 0.4)
   newrelic_rpm (~> 3.14)
   passenger (~> 5.0)
   pry-byebug
@@ -251,6 +274,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   rails (= 5.0.1)
   rails_logger!
   redis-rails (= 5.0.1)
+  rspec-rails
   ruby-saml
   sass-rails (~> 5.0)
   select2-rails (= 3.5.9)
@@ -258,6 +282,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   shoulda
   sprockets-rails (~> 2.0)
   uglifier (= 2.7.2)
+  validate_url (~> 1.0)
 
 BUNDLED WITH
-   1.14.6
+   1.16.0
diff --git a/app/models/.keep b/app/models/.keep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/models/concerns/.keep b/app/models/concerns/.keep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/app/models/link.rb b/app/models/link.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fbbe0456
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/models/link.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+class Link < ActiveRecord::Base
+  validates :url, url: true
+  validates :alias, uniqueness: true
+  before_save :change_alias_underscores_to_dashes
+
+  private
+
+  def change_alias_underscores_to_dashes
+    self.alias.gsub!("_", "-")
+  end
+end
diff --git a/config/application.rb b/config/application.rb
index 08a6c195..20474204 100644
--- a/config/application.rb
+++ b/config/application.rb
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 require 'action_mailer/railtie'
 require 'action_controller/railtie'
 require 'sprockets/railtie'
+require 'rails/all'
 
 # Require the gems listed in Gemfile, including any gems
 # you've limited to :test, :development, or :production.
diff --git a/config/database.yml b/config/database.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c0a21b81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/database.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+production:
+  database: go_links_db
+  username: go_links_user
+  password: "<%= Rails.application.secrets.go_links_user_password %>"
+  host: apex-dbs.liveramp.net
+  encoding: utf8
+  reconnect: 'true'
+  adapter: mysql2
+  retries: 0
+  pool: 5
+  reaping_frequency: 60
+  wait_timeout: 28800
+development:
+  adapter: mysql2
+  username: root
+  password:
+  database: go_links_local_db
+  host: localhost
+  encoding: utf8
+  reconnect: true
+test:
+  adapter: mysql2
+  username: root
+  password:
+  host: localhost
+  database: go_links_test_db
+  encoding: utf8
+  reconnect: true
diff --git a/config/secrets.yml b/config/secrets.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index bb49dc0d..00000000
--- a/config/secrets.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-# Be sure to restart your server when you modify this file.
-
-# Your secret key is used for verifying the integrity of signed cookies.
-# If you change this key, all old signed cookies will become invalid!
-
-# Make sure the secret is at least 30 characters and all random,
-# no regular words or you'll be exposed to dictionary attacks.
-# You can use `rake secret` to generate a secure secret key.
-
-# Make sure the secrets in this file are kept private
-# if you're sharing your code publicly.
-
-development:
-  secret_key_base: 63c8eb30a30e1d4f4224a96da78c4bdb859f37f632962e1515cb7023b8ec2adb6e5063025c9cb4ab3d5cacfefe5ea4250ad5e5cd4fd7a2addfe48f52e2e76553
-
-test:
-  secret_key_base: 6e8747796758022e74d47ea2c9cec5dabec6a51f9f8b0fd21b9518b1c3e473e52be58ffed71d27ae8bd7b974b6af4cec3267c9e59102df1af9892d2a038860b8
-
-# Do not keep production secrets in the repository,
-# instead read values from the environment.
-production:
-  secret_key_base: 63c8eb30a30e1d4f4224a96da78c4bdb859f37f632962e1515cb7023b8ec2adb6e5063025c9cb4ab3d5cacfefe5ea4250ad5e5cd4fd7a2addfe48f52e2e76553
diff --git a/db/migrate/20180821101102_create_links.rb b/db/migrate/20180821101102_create_links.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..31535b90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20180821101102_create_links.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+class CreateLinks < ActiveRecord::Migration[5.0]
+  def change
+    create_table :links do |t|
+      t.string :alias, null: false
+      t.string :url, null: false
+      t.string :owner, null: false
+      t.text :description
+      t.timestamps
+
+      t.index :alias, unique: true
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/schema.rb b/db/schema.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..71eac1fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/schema.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# This file is auto-generated from the current state of the database. Instead
+# of editing this file, please use the migrations feature of Active Record to
+# incrementally modify your database, and then regenerate this schema definition.
+#
+# Note that this schema.rb definition is the authoritative source for your
+# database schema. If you need to create the application database on another
+# system, you should be using db:schema:load, not running all the migrations
+# from scratch. The latter is a flawed and unsustainable approach (the more migrations
+# you'll amass, the slower it'll run and the greater likelihood for issues).
+#
+# It's strongly recommended that you check this file into your version control system.
+
+ActiveRecord::Schema.define(version: 20180821101102) do
+
+  create_table "links", force: :cascade, options: "ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8" do |t|
+    t.string   "alias",                     null: false
+    t.string   "url",                       null: false
+    t.string   "owner",                     null: false
+    t.text     "description", limit: 65535
+    t.datetime "created_at",                null: false
+    t.datetime "updated_at",                null: false
+    t.index ["alias"], name: "index_links_on_alias", unique: true, using: :btree
+  end
+
+end
diff --git a/spec/app/models/link_spec.rb b/spec/app/models/link_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9f2ad1d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/app/models/link_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+describe Link do
+  context "validation" do
+    let(:link) { FactoryGirl.build(:link) }
+
+    it "does not allow invalid urls" do
+      [
+        "foo.net",
+        "www.foo.com",
+        "foo.biz",
+        "",
+        "a_word",
+        "http://a space.com",
+        nil
+      ].each do |url|
+        link.url = url
+        expect(link).not_to be_valid
+      end
+    end
+
+    it "allows non-local urls" do
+      [
+        "http://foo.com",
+        "https://foo.biz",
+        "http://www.foo.net",
+        "https://www.foo.com",
+      ].each do |url|
+        link.url = url
+        expect(link).to be_valid
+      end
+    end
+
+    it "allows local urls" do
+      [
+        "http://foo",
+        "https://foo",
+      ].each do |url|
+        link.url = url
+        expect(link).to be_valid
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  it "replaces underscores with dashes" do
+    expect(
+      FactoryGirl.create(:link, alias: "foo_bar").alias
+    ).to eq "foo-bar"
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/factories/links.rb b/spec/factories/links.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b8e445ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/factories/links.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+FactoryGirl.define do
+  factory :link do
+    created_at Time.now
+    updated_at Time.now
+    sequence(:owner) { |i| "owner_#{i}" }
+    sequence(:url) { |i| "http://url_#{i}.com" }
+    sequence(:alias) { |i| "alias-#{i}" }
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/spec_helper.rb b/spec/spec_helper.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0dbbfa5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# This file is copied to spec/ when you run 'rails generate rspec:install'
+ENV["RAILS_ENV"] ||= 'test'
+require File.expand_path("../../config/environment", __FILE__)
+require 'rspec/rails'
+
+RSpec.configure do |config|
+  config.expect_with :rspec do |expectations|
+    expectations.include_chain_clauses_in_custom_matcher_descriptions = true
+  end
+
+  config.mock_with :rspec do |mocks|
+    mocks.verify_partial_doubles = true
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/controllers/.keep b/test/controllers/.keep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/test/fixtures/.keep b/test/fixtures/.keep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/test/helpers/.keep b/test/helpers/.keep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/test/integration/.keep b/test/integration/.keep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/test/mailers/.keep b/test/mailers/.keep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/test/models/.keep b/test/models/.keep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29b..00000000
diff --git a/test/test_helper.rb b/test/test_helper.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 92e39b2d..00000000
--- a/test/test_helper.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-ENV['RAILS_ENV'] ||= 'test'
-require File.expand_path('../../config/environment', __FILE__)
-require 'rails/test_help'
-
-class ActiveSupport::TestCase
-  # Setup all fixtures in test/fixtures/*.yml for all tests in alphabetical order.
-  fixtures :all
-
-  # Add more helper methods to be used by all tests here...
-end