diff --git a/server/package-lock.json b/server/package-lock.json
index 44b333f..f3eea12 100644
--- a/server/package-lock.json
+++ b/server/package-lock.json
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
       "name": "motif-backend",
       "version": "0.1.0",
       "dependencies": {
+        "@vercel/kv": "^3.0.0",
         "cheerio": "^1.0.0-rc.12",
         "cors": "^2.8.5",
         "crypto": "^1.0.1",
@@ -616,6 +617,27 @@
         "@types/node": "*"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/@upstash/redis": {
+      "version": "1.36.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@upstash/redis/-/redis-1.36.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-9zN2UV9QJGPnXfWU3yZBLVQaqqENDh7g+Y4J2vJuSxBCi9FQ0aUOtaXlzuFhnsiZvCqM+eS27ic+tgmkWUsfOg==",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "uncrypto": "^0.1.3"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@vercel/kv": {
+      "version": "3.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@vercel/kv/-/kv-3.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-pKT8fRnfyYk2MgvyB6fn6ipJPCdfZwiKDdw7vB+HL50rjboEBHDVBEcnwfkEpVSp2AjNtoaOUH7zG+bVC/rvSg==",
+      "license": "Apache-2.0",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "@upstash/redis": "^1.34.0"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=14.6"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/accepts": {
       "version": "1.3.8",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/accepts/-/accepts-1.3.8.tgz",
@@ -1826,6 +1848,12 @@
         "node": ">=14.17"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/uncrypto": {
+      "version": "0.1.3",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/uncrypto/-/uncrypto-0.1.3.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-Ql87qFHB3s/De2ClA9e0gsnS6zXG27SkTiSJwjCc9MebbfapQfuPzumMIUMi38ezPZVNFcHI9sUIepeQfw8J8Q==",
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
     "node_modules/undici": {
       "version": "7.16.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/undici/-/undici-7.16.0.tgz",
diff --git a/server/package.json b/server/package.json
index 5b57b23..ec97b5a 100644
--- a/server/package.json
+++ b/server/package.json
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
     "start": "node dist/server.js"
   },
   "dependencies": {
+    "@vercel/kv": "^3.0.0",
     "cheerio": "^1.0.0-rc.12",
     "cors": "^2.8.5",
     "crypto": "^1.0.1",
diff --git a/server/src/server.ts b/server/src/server.ts
index 77af493..e7255b1 100644
--- a/server/src/server.ts
+++ b/server/src/server.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 import express from 'express';
 import cors from 'cors';
+import crypto from 'node:crypto';
+import { kv } from '@vercel/kv';
 import { MIDISearchService } from './services/MIDISearchService.js';
 import { MIDIFetchService } from './services/MIDIFetchService.js';
 import { MIDIParseService } from './services/MIDIParseService.js';
@@ -14,6 +16,58 @@ const searchService = new MIDISearchService();
 const fetchService = new MIDIFetchService();
 const parseService = new MIDIParseService();
 
+type SharePayload =
+  | {
+      kind: 'bitmidi';
+      id: string;
+      title?: string;
+      createdAt: string;
+      v: number;
+    }
+  | {
+      kind: 'url';
+      u: string;
+      title?: string;
+      createdAt: string;
+      v: number;
+    };
+
+const localShareStore = new Map<string, SharePayload>();
+
+function base62(bytes: Uint8Array): string {
+  const alphabet = '0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz';
+  let out = '';
+  for (const b of bytes) out += alphabet[b % alphabet.length];
+  return out;
+}
+
+function newCode(): string {
+  // 8 chars base62-ish from random bytes (sufficient for our scale)
+  return base62(crypto.randomBytes(8));
+}
+
+async function shareSet(code: string, payload: SharePayload): Promise<void> {
+  const key = `share:${code}`;
+  // 30 days TTL
+  const exSec = 60 * 60 * 24 * 30;
+  try {
+    await kv.set(key, payload, { ex: exSec });
+  } catch {
+    // Local dev / KV not configured: best-effort in-memory store.
+    localShareStore.set(code, payload);
+  }
+}
+
+async function shareGet(code: string): Promise<SharePayload | null> {
+  const key = `share:${code}`;
+  try {
+    const val = await kv.get<SharePayload>(key);
+    return val ?? null;
+  } catch {
+    return localShareStore.get(code) ?? null;
+  }
+}
+
 // Search for MIDI files
 app.get('/api/midi/search', async (req, res) => {
   try {
@@ -31,6 +85,73 @@ app.get('/api/midi/search', async (req, res) => {
   }
 });
 
+// Create a short share link
+app.post('/api/share', async (req, res) => {
+  try {
+    const body = (req.body || {}) as any;
+    const now = new Date().toISOString();
+    const title = typeof body.title === 'string' ? body.title.slice(0, 200) : undefined;
+
+    let payload: SharePayload | null = null;
+    if (body.src === 'bitmidi' && typeof body.id === 'string' && /^\d+$/.test(body.id)) {
+      payload = { kind: 'bitmidi', id: body.id, title, createdAt: now, v: 1 };
+    } else if (typeof body.u === 'string' && body.u.startsWith('http')) {
+      payload = { kind: 'url', u: body.u, title, createdAt: now, v: 1 };
+    }
+
+    if (!payload) {
+      return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Invalid payload. Expected {src:\"bitmidi\",id:\"123\"} or {u:\"https://...\"}.' });
+    }
+
+    // Avoid collisions (extremely unlikely, but cheap to check a few times)
+    let code = newCode();
+    for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
+      const existing = await shareGet(code);
+      if (!existing) break;
+      code = newCode();
+    }
+
+    await shareSet(code, payload);
+    res.json({
+      code,
+      url: `/s/${code}`,
+    });
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Share create error:', error);
+    res.status(500).json({ error: 'Share create failed' });
+  }
+});
+
+// Resolve a short share link and redirect to /play
+app.get('/s/:code', async (req, res) => {
+  try {
+    const code = String(req.params.code || '').trim();
+    if (!code) return res.status(400).send('Missing code');
+
+    const payload = await shareGet(code);
+    if (!payload) return res.status(404).send('Not found');
+
+    let dest = '/play';
+    if (payload.kind === 'bitmidi') {
+      const sp = new URLSearchParams();
+      sp.set('src', 'bitmidi');
+      sp.set('id', payload.id);
+      if (payload.title) sp.set('title', payload.title);
+      dest = `/play?${sp.toString()}`;
+    } else if (payload.kind === 'url') {
+      const sp = new URLSearchParams();
+      sp.set('u', payload.u);
+      if (payload.title) sp.set('title', payload.title);
+      dest = `/play?${sp.toString()}`;
+    }
+
+    res.redirect(302, dest);
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Share resolve error:', error);
+    res.status(500).send('Resolve failed');
+  }
+});
+
 // Fetch and proxy MIDI file
 app.get('/api/midi/fetch', async (req, res) => {
   try {
diff --git a/ux-test.html b/ux-test.html
index 3df4089..094d62b 100644
--- a/ux-test.html
+++ b/ux-test.html
@@ -659,7 +659,7 @@
 
         async function copyShareLink() {
             if (!currentMidiUrl) return;
-            const url = buildShareUrl();
+            const url = await buildShortShareUrl();
             try {
                 if (navigator.clipboard?.writeText) {
                     await navigator.clipboard.writeText(url);
@@ -704,14 +704,45 @@
             return `${window.location.origin}/play?u=${encodeURIComponent(currentMidiUrl)}&title=${encodeURIComponent(title)}`;
         }
 
+        async function buildShortShareUrl() {
+            const title = cleanTitleForShare(currentTitle);
+
+            // Prefer creating a backend short link for sharing on X.
+            try {
+                let payload = null;
+                if (currentSource === 'bitmidi') {
+                    const m = String(currentMidiUrl).match(/\/uploads\/(\d+)\.mid/i);
+                    if (m && m[1]) payload = { src: 'bitmidi', id: m[1], title };
+                }
+                if (!payload) {
+                    payload = { u: currentMidiUrl, title };
+                }
+
+                const resp = await fetch('/api/share', {
+                    method: 'POST',
+                    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+                    body: JSON.stringify(payload),
+                });
+                if (!resp.ok) throw new Error(`share:${resp.status}`);
+                const data = await resp.json();
+                if (data && data.url) return `${window.location.origin}${data.url}`;
+            } catch (e) {
+                // fall back
+            }
+
+            return buildShareUrl();
+        }
+
         function shareOnX() {
             if (!currentMidiUrl) return;
-            const url = buildShareUrl();
-            const niceTitle = cleanTitleForShare(currentTitle);
-            // Keep tweet text clean; URL is passed separately.
-            const text = niceTitle ? `MOTIF chiptune: ${niceTitle}` : 'MOTIF chiptune';
-            const intent = `https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=${encodeURIComponent(text)}&url=${encodeURIComponent(url)}`;
-            window.open(intent, '_blank', 'noopener,noreferrer');
+            (async () => {
+                const url = await buildShortShareUrl();
+                const niceTitle = cleanTitleForShare(currentTitle);
+                // Keep tweet text clean; URL is passed separately.
+                const text = niceTitle ? `MOTIF chiptune: ${niceTitle}` : 'MOTIF chiptune';
+                const intent = `https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=${encodeURIComponent(text)}&url=${encodeURIComponent(url)}`;
+                window.open(intent, '_blank', 'noopener,noreferrer');
+            })();
         }
 
         function setStatus(msg, isError = false) {
diff --git a/vercel.json b/vercel.json
index 5e19d49..487fbd1 100644
--- a/vercel.json
+++ b/vercel.json
@@ -22,6 +22,10 @@
       "src": "/health",
       "dest": "server/src/server.ts"
     },
+    {
+      "src": "/s/(.*)",
+      "dest": "server/src/server.ts"
+    },
     {
       "src": "/embed",
       "dest": "/embed.html"