Frequently Asked Questions
What is a UUID?
UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) is a 128-bit label used to uniquely identify objects in computer systems. Format: 8-4-4-4-12 hex characters, e.g., 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000. UUID v4 is randomly generated.
How unique is a UUID v4?
The probability of generating two identical UUID v4s is astronomically small â approximately 1 in 5.3 Ã 10^36. You could generate 1 trillion UUIDs per second for a billion years and the chance of a collision would still be negligible.
When should I use UUIDs?
Use UUIDs for: database primary keys (avoiding sequential ID guessing), distributed systems where IDs are generated without coordination, session tokens, file names for uploaded files, API resource identifiers.