diff --git a/src/lib/sharing.test.ts b/src/lib/sharing.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0715253
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/sharing.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import {
+	encodeCharacterURL,
+	decodeCharacterURL,
+	encodeTemplateURL,
+	decodeTemplateURL
+} from './sharing';
+import type { Character, Template } from './types';
+
+const testTemplate: Template = {
+	id: 'preset:standard',
+	name: 'Standard',
+	description: 'The standard record format.',
+	schemaVersion: 1,
+	records: [
+		{
+			type: 'public',
+			expanded: true,
+			fields: [
+				{ label: 'Name', type: 'text' },
+				{ label: 'Species', type: 'species' }
+			]
+		}
+	]
+};
+
+const testCharacter: Character = {
+	id: 'abc-123',
+	template: testTemplate,
+	data: {
+		name: 'Yury Zakharov',
+		species: 'human',
+		'employment-history': 'Shaft Miner'
+	}
+};
+
+describe('character URL encoding', () => {
+	it('round-trips character data', () => {
+		const encoded = encodeCharacterURL(testCharacter);
+		const decoded = decodeCharacterURL(encoded);
+		expect(decoded.data).toEqual(testCharacter.data);
+		expect(decoded.template.name).toBe('Standard');
+	});
+
+	it('starts with c1. prefix', () => {
+		const encoded = encodeCharacterURL(testCharacter);
+		expect(encoded.startsWith('c1.')).toBe(true);
+	});
+
+	it('strips id', () => {
+		const encoded = encodeCharacterURL(testCharacter);
+		const decoded = decodeCharacterURL(encoded);
+		expect(decoded).not.toHaveProperty('id');
+	});
+
+	it('prunes empty values from data', () => {
+		const char: Character = {
+			...testCharacter,
+			data: { name: 'Yury Zakharov', species: '', 'hair-color': '' }
+		};
+		const encoded = encodeCharacterURL(char);
+		const decoded = decodeCharacterURL(encoded);
+		expect(decoded.data).toEqual({ name: 'Yury Zakharov' });
+	});
+});
+
+describe('template URL encoding', () => {
+	it('round-trips template structure', () => {
+		const encoded = encodeTemplateURL(testTemplate);
+		const decoded = decodeTemplateURL(encoded);
+		expect(decoded.name).toBe('Standard');
+		expect(decoded.records).toEqual(testTemplate.records);
+	});
+
+	it('starts with t1. prefix', () => {
+		const encoded = encodeTemplateURL(testTemplate);
+		expect(encoded.startsWith('t1.')).toBe(true);
+	});
+
+	it('strips id', () => {
+		const encoded = encodeTemplateURL(testTemplate);
+		const decoded = decodeTemplateURL(encoded);
+		expect(decoded).not.toHaveProperty('id');
+	});
+});
+
+describe('unicode support', () => {
+	it('round-trips unicode content', () => {
+		const char: Character = {
+			...testCharacter,
+			data: { name: "Ka'Akaix'Lak Zo'ra", species: 'vaurca' }
+		};
+		const encoded = encodeCharacterURL(char);
+		const decoded = decodeCharacterURL(encoded);
+		expect(decoded.data.name).toBe("Ka'Akaix'Lak Zo'ra");
+	});
+});
+
+describe('error handling', () => {
+	it('throws on invalid character input', () => {
+		expect(() => decodeCharacterURL('c1.invaliddata!!!')).toThrow();
+	});
+
+	it('throws on wrong prefix', () => {
+		const encoded = encodeCharacterURL(testCharacter);
+		expect(() => decodeTemplateURL(encoded)).toThrow();
+	});
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/sharing.ts b/src/lib/sharing.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0726f10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/sharing.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+import pako from 'pako';
+import type { Character, Template } from './types';
+
+function toBase64url(bytes: Uint8Array): string {
+	let binary = '';
+	for (const b of bytes) binary += String.fromCharCode(b);
+	return btoa(binary).replace(/\+/g, '-').replace(/\//g, '_').replace(/=+$/, '');
+}
+
+function fromBase64url(str: string): Uint8Array {
+	const padded = str.replace(/-/g, '+').replace(/_/g, '/');
+	const binary = atob(padded);
+	const bytes = new Uint8Array(binary.length);
+	for (let i = 0; i < binary.length; i++) bytes[i] = binary.charCodeAt(i);
+	return bytes;
+}
+
+function pruneEmpty(data: Record<string, unknown>): Record<string, unknown> {
+	const out: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+	for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(data)) {
+		if (v === '' || v === undefined || v === null) continue;
+		if (Array.isArray(v) && v.length === 0) continue;
+		out[k] = v;
+	}
+	return out;
+}
+
+export function encodeCharacterURL(char: Character): string {
+	const payload = {
+		template: stripId(char.template),
+		data: pruneEmpty(char.data)
+	};
+	const json = JSON.stringify(payload);
+	const compressed = pako.deflate(new TextEncoder().encode(json));
+	return 'c1.' + toBase64url(compressed);
+}
+
+export function decodeCharacterURL(encoded: string): { template: Omit<Template, 'id'>; data: Record<string, unknown> } {
+	if (!encoded.startsWith('c1.')) throw new Error('Invalid character URL prefix');
+	const bytes = fromBase64url(encoded.slice(3));
+	const json = new TextDecoder().decode(pako.inflate(bytes));
+	return JSON.parse(json);
+}
+
+export function encodeTemplateURL(template: Template): string {
+	const payload = stripId(template);
+	const json = JSON.stringify(payload);
+	const compressed = pako.deflate(new TextEncoder().encode(json));
+	return 't1.' + toBase64url(compressed);
+}
+
+export function decodeTemplateURL(encoded: string): Omit<Template, 'id'> {
+	if (!encoded.startsWith('t1.')) throw new Error('Invalid template URL prefix');
+	const bytes = fromBase64url(encoded.slice(3));
+	const json = new TextDecoder().decode(pako.inflate(bytes));
+	return JSON.parse(json);
+}
+
+function stripId(obj: Record<string, any>): Record<string, any> {
+	const { id, ...rest } = obj;
+	return rest;
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/types.ts b/src/lib/types.ts
index b42891c..b0852cd 100644
--- a/src/lib/types.ts
+++ b/src/lib/types.ts
@@ -107,6 +107,4 @@ export interface Character {
 	id: string;
 	template: Template;
 	data: Record<string, unknown>;
-	createdAt: string;
-	updatedAt: string;
 }