Short UUID Generator

Short UUID Generator

Generate compact encoded versions of standard UUIDs

Standard UUIDs
Modern Alternatives

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Click "Generate" to create UUIDs

UUID v4

Random UUIDs. Most commonly used for general purposes.

UUID v7

Time-ordered and random. Best for databases and sorting.

ULID

Sortable 26-char IDs. Perfect for distributed systems.

NanoID

Compact 21-char URL-safe IDs. Great for frontend use.

Example Short UUID Output:2WTD8eJKjZxqNpmBTw9kWA

What is Short UUID?

Short UUID takes standard UUID v4 and encodes it using a more efficient alphabet, typically Base58 or Base62. The result is a 22-character string that's fully reversible back to the original UUID while being 40% shorter.

This approach gives you the best of both worlds: the proven uniqueness guarantees of UUID v4 with the compact representation needed for URLs, APIs, and user-facing identifiers.

Why Use Short UUID?

Short UUIDs maintain compatibility with existing UUID infrastructure while reducing storage and display requirements. You can store the short form externally and convert to standard UUID for internal database operations.

Base58 encoding (used by Bitcoin) excludes confusing characters like 0, O, l, and I, making short UUIDs easier to read, copy, and communicate verbally. This reduces support tickets from mistyped identifiers.

How Short UUID Works

Short UUID encoding:

1. Parse UUID string to 128-bit integer 2. Encode using Base58 or Base62 alphabet 3. Pad to consistent length (22 characters for Base58)

Decoding reverses the process: 1. Parse Base58/62 string to integer 2. Format as standard UUID with hyphens

Common Use Cases

  • User-facing URLs with cleaner IDs
  • API responses minimizing payload size
  • QR codes with limited character capacity
  • Verbal communication of identifiers

Pro Tip

Use Base58 for human-readable contexts (no confusing chars) and Base62 for maximum compression.

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