Generate Unique IDs
for Development

UUIDv7 is a modern version of the universally unique identifier (UUID) standard designed for time-based, sortable identifiers. Unlike traditional UUIDv4 (random) or UUIDv1 (MAC-based), UUIDv7 embeds a 48-bit Unix timestamp with millisecond precision, making each ID both globally unique and chronologically sortable. This makes it ideal for high-performance databases, distributed systems, and event logging.

Key Features of UUIDv7:

• 128-bit Format: Follows the standard UUID structure for compatibility across systems.
• Time-Based Precision: Encodes the current Unix timestamp in milliseconds, allowing natural sorting.
• Randomized Bits: Combines randomness to ensure uniqueness, even at high generation speeds.
• Chronological Order: UUIDs are naturally ordered by creation time—great for indexing and querying.
• No Device Data Exposure: Unlike UUIDv1, it doesn’t use MAC addresses, protecting user privacy.
• No Central Coordination: UUIDv7 can be safely generated across different machines or threads.

Common Use Cases

• Primary Keys in Databases: Ideal for PostgreSQL, MySQL, and other relational databases needing efficient, sequential insertions.
• Distributed Systems: Ensures event ordering and uniqueness across nodes or services.
• Event Tracking & Logging: Easily sort logs by creation time with built-in timestamp metadata.
• Session Tokens & API Keys: Unique, time-aware identifiers for authentication or analytics.

Best Practices for UUIDv7

• ✅ Use a secure random number generator for entropy to prevent collisions.
• ✅ Optimize for high-write workloads: Great for apps with frequent insertions and time-series data.
• ✅ Check language/library support: UUIDv7 is supported in modern environments like Node.js, Go, Python, .NET 9, etc.
• ✅ Monitor performance: Ensure timestamp precision and random bit generation are consistent under load.

Advantages of UUIDv7

• ⚡ Fast, efficient indexing thanks to time-ordered inserts.
• 🌍 Globally unique: Works seamlessly across distributed services or multithreaded apps.
• 🔐 Privacy-friendly: Doesn’t expose hardware or location data.
• 📈 Improved performance: More efficient than UUIDv4 for range queries and paginated data.
• 🗃️ Simplifies partitioning: Perfect for time-based sharding and archiving strategies.

Potential Drawbacks

• 📦 Larger storage size: At 128 bits, UUIDs are larger than custom integer keys.
• ⏱️ Timestamp exposure: Creation time is embedded—could be a privacy concern in sensitive applications.
• 🔁 Millisecond collisions: High-frequency events in the same millisecond may disrupt ordering. Use a sub-counter or additional randomness.
• 🧰 Limited legacy support: May require newer libraries or infrastructure upgrades.

Why Choose UUIDv7?

If you’re building modern web apps, distributed microservices, or event-driven systems, UUIDv7 is the smart default. It combines the performance of sequential IDs with the safety and scale of UUIDs—making it perfect for scalable, secure, and future-proof applications. You can also easily migrate from UUIDv4 or integer keys to UUIDv7, as the format remains compatible in most modern databases.

🔐 Pro Tip: Always use a cryptographically secure random source when generating UUIDv7 values to guarantee collision resistance and security.