Generate UUIDs v1-v7, namespace UUIDs, decode and compare. Cryptographically secure with 9 formats.
Select Format
UUID Validator
Format Reference
UUID v4 (Random)Secure
Cryptographically secure random
550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000UUID v7 (Sortable)Secure
New sortable timestamp-based
01890000-0000-7000-8000-000000000000UUID v1 (Timestamp)
Time-based UUID
6ba7b810-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8Short ID (8)
8-character alphanumeric
Ab3Cd4EfShort ID (12)
12-character alphanumeric
Ab3Cd4EfGh5INano ID (21)Secure
URL-safe unique ID
V1StGXR8_Z5jdHi6B-myTCUID
Collision-resistant ID
cjld2cyuq0000t3rmniod1foyULID
Sortable unique ID
01ARZ3NDEKTSV4RRFFQ69G5FAVObjectID
MongoDB-style ID
507f1f77bcf86cd7994390119 Formats
UUID v1-v7, Nano ID, ULID & more
Crypto Secure
Web Crypto API random
Namespace UUID
v3/v5 with DNS, URL, OID
Decoder
Extract version, timestamp
Compare
Diff two UUIDs
Bulk Generate
Up to 1000 at once
Export
TXT, JSON, CSV formats
Validator
Check UUID validity
UUIDs, or Universally Unique Identifiers, are 128-bit values used to identify resources without requiring a central registration authority. They are essential in distributed systems, databases, APIs, and software development where unique identification must be guaranteed across independent systems. Our free UUID Generator creates valid version 4 UUIDs instantly, with options to generate multiple identifiers at once and copy them in various formats for immediate use in your projects.
Software developers and engineers are the primary users of this tool. Whether you need unique identifiers for database records, API resource keys, session tokens, message queue IDs, or test fixtures, this generator provides cryptographically random UUIDs that conform to RFC 4122. QA engineers use it to create test data with guaranteed unique keys. System architects reference UUIDs when designing distributed systems that need to generate identifiers independently without coordination between nodes.
Version 4 UUIDs, which this tool generates by default, use random or pseudo-random numbers and are the most commonly used in modern applications. Version 1 UUIDs incorporate a timestamp and MAC address, which can raise privacy concerns. Version 5 and version 3 UUIDs are generated from a namespace and name using SHA-1 or MD5 hashing respectively, producing deterministic results for the same input. The probability of generating two identical version 4 UUIDs is astronomically low, making them safe to use as primary keys in virtually any application.
UUIDs are used as primary keys in databases where auto-incrementing integers could expose record counts or create conflicts during data merging. They serve as correlation IDs in distributed logging systems to trace requests across microservices. API developers use them as resource identifiers in RESTful endpoints to avoid sequential enumeration attacks. Content management systems assign UUIDs to assets so files can be referenced uniquely across environments. Session tokens, message queue identifiers, and temporary file names are other common applications where guaranteed uniqueness without coordination is essential.
GUID, or Globally Unique Identifier, is Microsoft's implementation of the UUID standard and is functionally equivalent. Both follow the same 8-4-4-4-12 hexadecimal format. Other identifier systems include ULID, which is lexicographically sortable and embeds a timestamp, and nanoid, which generates shorter URL-friendly identifiers. Snowflake IDs, used by Twitter and Discord, combine a timestamp with worker and sequence numbers for sortable distributed IDs. Choose the format that best fits your use case based on requirements for sortability, length, readability, and collision resistance.