504 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
504 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
# Nano ID
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<img src="https://ai.github.io/nanoid/logo.svg" align="right"
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alt="Nano ID logo by Anton Lovchikov" width="180" height="94">
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A tiny, secure, URL-friendly, unique string ID generator for JavaScript.
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> “An amazing level of senseless perfectionism,
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> which is simply impossible not to respect.”
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* **Small.** 108 bytes (minified and gzipped). No dependencies.
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[Size Limit] controls the size.
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* **Fast.** It is 60% faster than UUID.
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* **Safe.** It uses cryptographically strong random APIs.
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Can be used in clusters.
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* **Compact.** It uses a larger alphabet than UUID (`A-Za-z0-9_-`).
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So ID size was reduced from 36 to 21 symbols.
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* **Portable.** Nano ID was ported
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to [14 programming languages](#other-programming-languages).
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```js
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import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
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model.id = nanoid() //=> "V1StGXR8_Z5jdHi6B-myT"
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```
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Supports modern browsers, IE [with Babel], Node.js and React Native.
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[online tool]: https://gitpod.io/#https://github.com/ai/nanoid/
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[with Babel]: https://developer.epages.com/blog/coding/how-to-transpile-node-modules-with-babel-and-webpack-in-a-monorepo/
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[Size Limit]: https://github.com/ai/size-limit
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<a href="https://evilmartians.com/?utm_source=nanoid">
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<img src="https://evilmartians.com/badges/sponsored-by-evil-martians.svg"
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alt="Sponsored by Evil Martians" width="236" height="54">
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</a>
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## Table of Contents
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* [Comparison with UUID](#comparison-with-uuid)
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* [Benchmark](#benchmark)
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* [Tools](#tools)
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* [Security](#security)
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* [Usage](#usage)
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* [JS](#js)
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* [IE](#ie)
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* [React](#react)
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* [Create React App](#create-react-app)
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* [React Native](#react-native)
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* [Rollup](#rollup)
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* [Expo](#expo)
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* [PouchDB and CouchDB](#pouchdb-and-couchdb)
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* [Mongoose](#mongoose)
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* [ES Modules](#es-modules)
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* [Web Workers](#web-workers)
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* [CLI](#cli)
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* [Other Programming Languages](#other-programming-languages)
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* [API](#api)
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* [Async](#async)
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* [Non-Secure](#non-secure)
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* [Custom Alphabet or Size](#custom-alphabet-or-size)
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* [Custom Random Bytes Generator](#custom-random-bytes-generator)
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## Comparison with UUID
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Nano ID is quite comparable to UUID v4 (random-based).
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It has a similar number of random bits in the ID
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(126 in Nano ID and 122 in UUID), so it has a similar collision probability:
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> For there to be a one in a billion chance of duplication,
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> 103 trillion version 4 IDs must be generated.
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There are three main differences between Nano ID and UUID v4:
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1. Nano ID uses a bigger alphabet, so a similar number of random bits
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are packed in just 21 symbols instead of 36.
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2. Nano ID code is **4.5 times less** than `uuid/v4` package:
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108 bytes instead of 483.
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3. Because of memory allocation tricks, Nano ID is **60%** faster than UUID.
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## Benchmark
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```rust
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$ node ./test/benchmark.js
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nanoid 2,280,683 ops/sec
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customAlphabet 1,851,117 ops/sec
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uuid v4 1,348,425 ops/sec
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uid.sync 313,306 ops/sec
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secure-random-string 294,161 ops/sec
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cuid 158,988 ops/sec
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shortid 37,222 ops/sec
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Async:
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async nanoid 95,500 ops/sec
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async customAlphabet 93,800 ops/sec
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async secure-random-string 90,316 ops/sec
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uid 85,583 ops/sec
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Non-secure:
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non-secure nanoid 2,641,654 ops/sec
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rndm 2,447,086 ops/sec
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```
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Test configuration: Dell XPS 2-in-1 7390, Fedora 32, Node.js 15.1.
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## Tools
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* [ID size calculator] shows collision probability when adjusting
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the ID alphabet or size.
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* [`nanoid-dictionary`] with popular alphabets to use with `customAlphabet`.
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* [`nanoid-good`] to be sure that your ID doesn’t contain any obscene words.
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[`nanoid-dictionary`]: https://github.com/CyberAP/nanoid-dictionary
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[ID size calculator]: https://zelark.github.io/nano-id-cc/
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[`nanoid-good`]: https://github.com/y-gagar1n/nanoid-good
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## Security
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*See a good article about random generators theory:
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[Secure random values (in Node.js)]*
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* **Unpredictability.** Instead of using the unsafe `Math.random()`, Nano ID
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uses the `crypto` module in Node.js and the Web Crypto API in browsers.
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These modules use unpredictable hardware random generator.
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* **Uniformity.** `random % alphabet` is a popular mistake to make when coding
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an ID generator. The distribution will not be even; there will be a lower
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chance for some symbols to appear compared to others. So, it will reduce
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the number of tries when brute-forcing. Nano ID uses a [better algorithm]
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and is tested for uniformity.
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<img src="img/distribution.png" alt="Nano ID uniformity"
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width="340" height="135">
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* **Vulnerabilities:** to report a security vulnerability, please use
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the [Tidelift security contact](https://tidelift.com/security).
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Tidelift will coordinate the fix and disclosure.
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[Secure random values (in Node.js)]: https://gist.github.com/joepie91/7105003c3b26e65efcea63f3db82dfba
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[better algorithm]: https://github.com/ai/nanoid/blob/master/index.js
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## Usage
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### JS
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The main module uses URL-friendly symbols (`A-Za-z0-9_-`) and returns an ID
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with 21 characters (to have a collision probability similar to UUID v4).
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```js
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import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
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model.id = nanoid() //=> "V1StGXR8_Z5jdHi6B-myT"
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```
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If you want to reduce the ID size (and increase collisions probability),
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you can pass the size as an argument.
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```js
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nanoid(10) //=> "IRFa-VaY2b"
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```
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Don’t forget to check the safety of your ID size
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in our [ID collision probability] calculator.
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You can also use a [custom alphabet](#custom-alphabet-or-size)
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or a [random generator](#custom-random-bytes-generator).
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[ID collision probability]: https://zelark.github.io/nano-id-cc/
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### IE
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If you support IE, you need to [transpile `node_modules`] by Babel
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and add `crypto` alias:
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```js
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// polyfills.js
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if (!window.crypto) {
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window.crypto = window.msCrypto
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}
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```
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```js
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import './polyfills.js'
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import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
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```
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[transpile `node_modules`]: https://developer.epages.com/blog/coding/how-to-transpile-node-modules-with-babel-and-webpack-in-a-monorepo/
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### React
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**Do not** call `nanoid` in the `key` prop. In React, `key` should be consistent
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among renders.
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This is the bad example:
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```jsx
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<Item key={nanoid()} /> /* DON’T DO IT */
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```
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This is the good example (`id` will be generated only once):
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```jsx
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const Element = () => {
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const [id] = React.useState(nanoid)
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return <Item key={id} />
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}
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```
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If you want to use Nano ID in the `id` prop, you must set some string prefix
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(it is invalid for the HTML ID to start with a number).
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```jsx
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<input id={'id' + this.id} type="text"/>
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```
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### Create React App
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Create React App has [a problem](https://github.com/ai/nanoid/issues/205)
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with ES modules packages.
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```
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TypeError: (0 , _nanoid.nanoid) is not a function
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```
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[Pull request](https://github.com/facebook/create-react-app/pull/8768) was sent,
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but it was still not released.
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Use Nano ID 2 `npm i nanoid@^2.0.0` until Create React App 4.0 release.
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### React Native
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React Native does not have built-in random generator.
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1. Check [`react-native-get-random-values`] docs and install it.
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2. Import it before Nano ID.
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```js
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import 'react-native-get-random-values'
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import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
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```
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For Expo framework see the next section.
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[`react-native-get-random-values`]: https://github.com/LinusU/react-native-get-random-values
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### Rollup
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For Rollup you will need [`@rollup/plugin-replace`] to replace
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`process.env.NODE_ENV`:
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```js
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plugins: [
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replace({
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'process.env.NODE_ENV': JSON.stringify(process.env.NODE)
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})
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]
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```
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[`@rollup/plugin-replace`]: https://github.com/rollup/plugins/tree/master/packages/replace
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### Expo
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If you use Expo in React Native, you need a different workaround.
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1. Install [`expo-random`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/expo-random).
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2. Use `nanoid/async` instead of `nanoid`.
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3. Import `index.native.js` file directly.
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```js
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import { nanoid } from 'nanoid/async/index.native'
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async function createUser () {
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user.id = await nanoid()
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}
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```
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[`expo-random`]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/expo-random
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### PouchDB and CouchDB
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In PouchDB and CouchDB, IDs can’t start with an underscore `_`.
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A prefix is required to prevent this issue, as Nano ID might use a `_`
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at the start of the ID by default.
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Override the default ID with the following option:
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```js
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db.put({
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_id: 'id' + nanoid(),
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…
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})
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```
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### Mongoose
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```js
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const mySchema = new Schema({
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_id: {
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type: String,
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default: () => nanoid()
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}
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})
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```
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### ES Modules
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Nano ID provides ES modules. You do not need to do anything to use Nano ID
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as ESM in webpack, Rollup, Parcel, or Node.js.
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```js
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import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
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```
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For quick hacks, you can load Nano ID from CDN. Special minified
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`nanoid.js` module is available on jsDelivr.
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Though, it is not recommended to be used in production
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because of the lower loading performance.
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```js
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import { nanoid } from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/nanoid/nanoid.js'
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```
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### Web Workers
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Web Workers do not have access to a secure random generator.
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Security is important in IDs when IDs should be unpredictable.
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For instance, in "access by URL" link generation.
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If you do not need unpredictable IDs, but you need to use Web Workers,
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you can use the non‑secure ID generator.
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```js
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import { nanoid } from 'nanoid/non-secure'
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nanoid() //=> "Uakgb_J5m9g-0JDMbcJqLJ"
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```
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Note: non-secure IDs are more prone to collision attacks.
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### CLI
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You can get unique ID in terminal by calling `npx nanoid`. You need only
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Node.js in the system. You do not need Nano ID to be installed anywhere.
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```sh
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$ npx nanoid
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npx: installed 1 in 0.63s
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LZfXLFzPPR4NNrgjlWDxn
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```
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If you want to change alphabet or ID size, you should use [`nanoid-cli`].
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[`nanoid-cli`]: https://github.com/twhitbeck/nanoid-cli
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### Other Programming Languages
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Nano ID was ported to many languages. You can use these ports to have
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the same ID generator on the client and server side.
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* [C#](https://github.com/codeyu/nanoid-net)
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* [C++](https://github.com/mcmikecreations/nanoid_cpp)
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* [Clojure and ClojureScript](https://github.com/zelark/nano-id)
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* [Crystal](https://github.com/mamantoha/nanoid.cr)
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* [Dart](https://github.com/pd4d10/nanoid-dart)
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* [Deno](https://github.com/ianfabs/nanoid)
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* [Go](https://github.com/matoous/go-nanoid)
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* [Elixir](https://github.com/railsmechanic/nanoid)
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* [Haskell](https://github.com/4e6/nanoid-hs)
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* [Janet](https://sr.ht/~statianzo/janet-nanoid/)
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* [Java](https://github.com/aventrix/jnanoid)
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* [Nim](https://github.com/icyphox/nanoid.nim)
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* [PHP](https://github.com/hidehalo/nanoid-php)
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* [Python](https://github.com/puyuan/py-nanoid)
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with [dictionaries](https://pypi.org/project/nanoid-dictionary)
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* [Ruby](https://github.com/radeno/nanoid.rb)
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* [Rust](https://github.com/nikolay-govorov/nanoid)
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* [Swift](https://github.com/antiflasher/NanoID)
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Also, [CLI] is available to generate IDs from a command line.
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[CLI]: #cli
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## API
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### Async
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To generate hardware random bytes, CPU collects electromagnetic noise.
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In the synchronous API during the noise collection, the CPU is busy and
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cannot do anything useful in parallel.
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Using the asynchronous API of Nano ID, another code can run during
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the entropy collection.
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```js
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import { nanoid } from 'nanoid/async'
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async function createUser () {
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user.id = await nanoid()
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}
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```
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Unfortunately, you will lose Web Crypto API advantages in a browser
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if you use the asynchronous API. So, currently, in the browser, you are limited
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with either security or asynchronous behavior.
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### Non-Secure
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By default, Nano ID uses hardware random bytes generation for security
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and low collision probability. If you are not so concerned with security
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and more concerned with performance, you can use the faster non-secure generator.
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```js
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import { nanoid } from 'nanoid/non-secure'
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const id = nanoid() //=> "Uakgb_J5m9g-0JDMbcJqLJ"
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```
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Note: your IDs will be more predictable and prone to collision attacks.
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### Custom Alphabet or Size
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`customAlphabet` allows you to create `nanoid` with your own alphabet
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and ID size.
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```js
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import { customAlphabet } from 'nanoid'
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const nanoid = customAlphabet('1234567890abcdef', 10)
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model.id = nanoid() //=> "4f90d13a42"
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```
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Check the safety of your custom alphabet and ID size in our
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[ID collision probability] calculator. For more alphabets, check out the options
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in [`nanoid-dictionary`].
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Alphabet must contain 256 symbols or less.
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Otherwise, the security of the internal generator algorithm is not guaranteed.
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Customizable asynchronous and non-secure APIs are also available:
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```js
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import { customAlphabet } from 'nanoid/async'
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const nanoid = customAlphabet('1234567890abcdef', 10)
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async function createUser () {
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user.id = await nanoid()
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}
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```
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```js
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import { customAlphabet } from 'nanoid/non-secure'
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const nanoid = customAlphabet('1234567890abcdef', 10)
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user.id = nanoid()
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```
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[ID collision probability]: https://alex7kom.github.io/nano-nanoid-cc/
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[`nanoid-dictionary`]: https://github.com/CyberAP/nanoid-dictionary
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### Custom Random Bytes Generator
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`customRandom` allows you to create a `nanoid` and replace alphabet
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and the default random bytes generator.
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In this example, a seed-based generator is used:
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```js
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import { customRandom } from 'nanoid'
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const rng = seedrandom(seed)
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const nanoid = customRandom('abcdef', 10, size => {
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return (new Uint8Array(size)).map(() => 256 * rng())
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})
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nanoid() //=> "fbaefaadeb"
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```
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`random` callback must accept the array size and return an array
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with random numbers.
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If you want to use the same URL-friendly symbols with `customRandom`,
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you can get the default alphabet using the `urlAlphabet`.
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```js
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const { customRandom, urlAlphabet } = require('nanoid')
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const nanoid = customRandom(urlAlphabet, 10, random)
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```
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Asynchronous and non-secure APIs are not available for `customRandom`.
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