diff --git a/bskylink/src/routes/createShortLink.ts b/bskylink/src/routes/createShortLink.ts
index 411cbb7c67..cc3951525e 100644
--- a/bskylink/src/routes/createShortLink.ts
+++ b/bskylink/src/routes/createShortLink.ts
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ const getUrl = (ctx: AppContext, req: Request, id: string) => {
   if (!ctx.cfg.service.hostnames.length) {
     assert(req.headers.host, 'request must be made with host header')
     const baseUrl =
-      req.protocol === 'http' && req.headers.host!.startsWith('localhost:')
+      req.protocol === 'http' && req.headers.host.startsWith('localhost:')
         ? `http://${req.headers.host}`
         : `https://${req.headers.host}`
     return `${baseUrl}/${id}`
diff --git a/bskylink/tests/index.ts b/bskylink/tests/index.ts
index 8a7f121c92..1b3d06ad19 100644
--- a/bskylink/tests/index.ts
+++ b/bskylink/tests/index.ts
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ describe('link service', async () => {
     // League of Legends is set to WARN, not BLOCK, so expect a warning (blocked-site div present)
     assert.match(
       html,
-      /"Warning: Malicious Link/,
+      /Warning: Malicious Link/,
       'Expected warning not found in HTML',
     )
   })