🆔 UUID Generator

Generate random UUIDs (v1, v4) online.

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生成的 UUID

UUID 格式

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How to Use

Features

  • ✓ Generate UUID v1/v4
  • ✓ Bulk UUID generation
  • ✓ NIL UUID support
  • ✓ Copy to clipboard
  • ✓ Validate UUIDs

Step

  1. Select UUID version (v1 or v4)
  2. Choose quantity to generate
  3. Click "Generate UUID"
  4. View generated UUIDs
  5. Copy individual or all UUIDs

📚 Complete Guide

What is a UUID Generator?

A UUID Generator is an online tool designed to create Universally Unique Identifiers (UUIDs). A UUID is a 128-bit label used to uniquely identify information in computer systems without requiring centralized coordination. The primary purpose of this tool is to provide developers, system architects, and database administrators with a reliable and instant method to generate these unique identifiers for their software projects, databases, or any system requiring distinct, non-colliding IDs.

Purpose of the Tool

The core purpose of a UUID Generator is to eliminate the risk of identifier duplication across distributed systems. In scenarios where multiple databases, services, or devices are creating records independently (like in cloud applications, mobile apps, or microservices architectures), using simple incremental numbers can lead to conflicts. UUIDs solve this by offering an astronomically high probability of uniqueness, ensuring that every generated ID is distinct from any other, past, present, or future.

Main Functionality

This online tool typically offers a straightforward yet powerful set of features centered on creating and managing UUIDs. Its main functionalities include:

  • Instant Generation: With a single click, the tool produces a new, random UUID based on standardized algorithms.
  • Multiple Version Support: It often allows users to generate UUIDs of different versions (like version 4 for random numbers, or version 1 based on timestamp and MAC address), each suited for specific use cases.
  • Copy-Paste Convenience: A one-click copy function allows users to instantly copy the generated UUID to their clipboard for immediate use in their code or configuration files.
  • Batch Generation: The tool can usually generate multiple UUIDs at once, which is useful for populating test data or initializing systems.
  • Format Consistency: It outputs UUIDs in the standard 8-4-4-4-12 hexadecimal format (e.g., 123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000), ensuring compatibility with most databases and programming languages.

By providing these functions in an accessible web interface, the UUID Generator serves as an essential utility for modern software development, streamlining a critical task that underpins data integrity and system interoperability.

  • Guaranteed Uniqueness Across Systems

    The algorithm ensures every generated ID is statistically unique, even when created on different machines or at different times. This is crucial for merging data from distributed databases without conflicts.
  • No Central Coordination Required

    Unlike sequential IDs, UUIDs can be generated offline by any component in your system. This is perfect for mobile apps that need to create data entries before syncing with a central server.
  • Enhanced Security for Public-facing Data

    Using random UUIDs (like version 4) instead of predictable, incrementing numbers obfuscates resource counts and makes systems harder to scrape. For example, use them for public API resource IDs instead of user IDs from your database.
  • Simplified Database Merging and Replication

    When combining datasets from multiple branches or shards, UUIDs prevent primary key collisions. A real-world scenario is syncing customer records from different point-of-sale systems into a central data warehouse.
  • Ideal for Session and Transaction Identifiers

    UUIDs provide a robust, collision-free way to track unique user sessions in web applications or individual transactions in a microservices architecture, where multiple services may log events for the same process.
  • Decouples Identifier from Database Logic

    You can generate the ID for a new object in your application code before inserting it into the database. This simplifies object creation and is essential for event-driven systems where the ID must be known upfront.

Choosing the Right UUID Version

Selecting the appropriate UUID version is critical for your application's integrity and performance. Use Version 4 when you need a completely random, unique identifier, as it offers the best performance for generation. Opt for Version 1 when you need time-ordered, sortable IDs, but be aware it may leak MAC address information unless using a randomized node ID. Use Version 3 or 5 (preferred) when you need to generate the same UUID repeatedly from a specific namespace and name input, such as for hashing database records.

Security Considerations for Randomness

The security of random UUIDs (v4) depends entirely on the quality of the random number generator. For cryptographic or security-sensitive applications, ensure your generator uses a Cryptographically Secure Pseudo-Random Number Generator (CSPRNG). Avoid using simple `Math.random()` in browsers for critical operations. Most modern server-side languages and reputable online tools provide secure randomness by default for UUID generation.

Database Integration and Indexing

UUIDs as primary keys can impact database performance. Their large size (16 bytes) and randomness can lead to index fragmentation. To mitigate this, consider storing UUIDs as a binary data type (e.g., `BINARY(16)`) instead of a string (e.g., `VARCHAR(36)`), which reduces storage and can improve index locality. For time-ordered UUIDs (v1), the leading timestamp bytes can help with index insertion performance compared to completely random v4 UUIDs.

Efficient Storage and Transmission

While the canonical 36-character string representation with hyphens is human-readable, it is not storage-efficient. For APIs and internal storage, consider using a compact format:

  • Hexadecimal without hyphens: A 32-character string (e.g., `123e4567e89b12d3a456426614174000`).
  • Base64 or URL-safe Base64: Encodes the 16 bytes into about 22-24 characters, significantly reducing size for transmission.
  • Always document the format clearly when exchanging data between systems.

Namespace Usage for v3 and v5 UUIDs

Versions 3 (MD5) and 5 (SHA-1) generate deterministic UUIDs from a namespace and a name. This is powerful for creating consistent, unique identifiers for objects like URLs or usernames across distributed systems. Always use the standard namespace UUIDs provided by the RFC (e.g., DNS, URL) or define your own application-specific namespace UUID clearly. Prefer Version 5 over Version 3 due to SHA-1's stronger cryptographic properties, though neither is suitable for password hashing.

Validation and Sanitization

Always validate UUIDs received from external sources (user input, APIs). A basic regex check for the format is a good first step (e.g., `/^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[1-5][0-9a-f]{3}-[89ab][0-9a-f]{3}-[0-9a-f]{12}$/i`). Additionally, sanitize input by converting to lowercase and ensuring correct hyphen placement before storage or comparison to avoid case-sensitivity issues.

Testing and Collision Handling

While UUID collisions are statistically improbable, your system design should not assume they are impossible. In mission-critical systems, consider implementing idempotent operations or adding a unique constraint at the database level as a final safeguard. During testing, especially for v3/v5 UUIDs, verify that the same namespace and name always produce the identical, expected UUID output.

What is a UUID?

A UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) is a 128-bit number used to uniquely identify information in computer systems. The term GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) is often used interchangeably. UUIDs are standardized by the Open Software Foundation and are designed to be extremely unlikely to be duplicated, even when generated independently by different systems. They are commonly used as database keys, session identifiers, and in distributed systems.

How does this UUID Generator work?

This tool generates UUIDs according to specific version algorithms defined in the RFC 4122 standard. You can typically select a version (like version 4 for random UUIDs or version 1 for time-based UUIDs). When you click the generate button, the tool runs the appropriate algorithm in your web browser to create a new, valid UUID instantly, without sending any data to a server. This ensures privacy and speed.

What are the different UUID versions?

The main versions in common use are: Version 1: Combines a timestamp and the MAC address of the generating computer for uniqueness. Version 4: Generates UUIDs using random or pseudo-random numbers. This is the most common version due to its simplicity and privacy (no embedded MAC address). Version 3 & 5: Generate UUIDs by hashing a namespace and a name (using MD5 for v3 or SHA-1 for v5). They are deterministic, meaning the same input always produces the same UUID. Other versions (2, 6, 7, 8) exist but are less frequently used.

Are generated UUIDs truly unique?

While the probability is not zero, it is astronomically low. For version 4 UUIDs, the chance of a collision (generating the same UUID twice) is about 1 in 2^122. You are vastly more likely to experience a hardware error or cosmic ray interfering with your computer than to encounter a duplicate UUID in practice. For most applications, they can be considered globally unique.

Can I use these UUIDs in my database or application?

Yes, absolutely. The UUIDs generated by this tool are compliant with the RFC 4122 standard and are suitable for any use case requiring unique identifiers, including production software, databases, configuration files, and testing environments. They are provided as strings in the standard 8-4-4-4-12 hexadecimal format (e.g., 123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000).

Is it safe to generate UUIDs in a web browser?

Yes. This client-side generator is safe because all processing happens locally on your device. No identifier data is transmitted over the internet or stored on any server. This makes it a secure choice for generating sensitive keys or identifiers that you do not want to be logged on a third-party service.

What is the difference between uppercase and lowercase UUIDs?

There is no functional difference; both represent the same hexadecimal number. The RFC 4122 standard states that output should be lowercase, but many systems accept uppercase letters without issue. It is purely a formatting preference. This tool typically generates lowercase UUIDs to adhere to the standard, but some generators may offer an option to output in uppercase.

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