secid - Secure and Unique ID Generator

secid is a lightweight library for creating secure, unique identifiers that are designed to be collision resistant and safe. It offers a simple API for generating unique IDs for a wide range of use cases such as unique URL-safe id and more, also it is compatible with both browser and Node.js environments.

• Use Cases
• Customization
• Performance Considerations
• Why Use secid

Install

npm install secid

Usage

Basic Usage: Generate a Secure ID

import { SecId } from "secid";

const id = SecId.generate();
console.log(id);  // Example output: 'eXfgJ1T74m8rZyw2'

This generates a secure, random identifier. It is suitable for most applications requiring unique identifiers.

Use Cases

1. Unique User Identifiers (UIDs)

For applications that require user registration or identification, you can use SecId to generate a unique ID for each user.

import { SecId } from "secid";

const userId = SecId.generate();
console.log(`New user ID: ${userId}`);

• Scenario: Assign unique IDs to users in your app to differentiate between them without exposing sensitive information.

2. Session Tokens

Use SecId to generate secure session tokens that can be used to authenticate and authorize users in your application.

import { SecId } from "secid";

const sessionToken = SecId.generate();
console.log(`Generated session token: ${sessionToken}`);

• Scenario: When a user logs in, generate a unique session token that expires or is revoked after a certain period.

3. API Keys for External Services

If you need to generate API keys to securely interact with external services, SecId can be used to generate random, hard-to-guess keys.

import { SecId } from "secid";

const apiKey = SecId.generate();
console.log(`Generated API Key: ${apiKey}`);

• Scenario: Assign an API key to a user when they sign up for your service, ensuring that it's unique and hard to guess.

4. File or Object Identifiers

When storing files or objects (e.g., images, documents), use SecId to generate unique identifiers that link to each file.

import { SecId } from "secid";

const fileId = SecId.generate();
console.log(`Generated file ID: ${fileId}`);

• Scenario: Generate IDs for uploaded files to easily reference and retrieve them from your database or storage service.

5. Database Primary Keys

For databases that require unique primary keys (such as in NoSQL databases), SecId can be used to generate identifiers for records or entities.

import { SecId } from "secid";

const recordId = SecId.generate();
console.log(`Generated record ID: ${recordId}`);

• Scenario: Generate primary keys for database records, ensuring they are globally unique and secure.

6. Unique Transaction IDs

If you're building an e-commerce or financial application, you may need unique transaction IDs for each order, payment, or transfer.

import { SecId } from "secid";

const transactionId = SecId.generate();
console.log(`Generated transaction ID: ${transactionId}`);

• Scenario: Generate secure transaction identifiers that can be used to track and reference payments.

7. Tracking and Analytics IDs

When tracking user behavior or generating event logs, you may want to assign unique identifiers to each event or user session.

import { SecId } from "secid";

const eventId = SecId.generate();
console.log(`Generated event ID: ${eventId}`);

• Scenario: Generate IDs for individual user events (such as page views, clicks, etc.) for analytics tracking.

8. Order or Invoice Numbers

In e-commerce platforms, you can use SecId to generate unique order numbers or invoice IDs for each transaction.

import { SecId } from "secid";

const orderNumber = SecId.generate();
console.log(`Generated order number: ${orderNumber}`);

• Scenario: Assign a unique ID to each order, ensuring that every transaction is easily identifiable and traceable.

9. URLs for Shortened Links

Generate secure and random URL slugs for shortened links. You can use SecId to create short but unique URLs for your web service.

import { SecId } from "secid";

const shortUrlSlug = SecId.generate();
console.log(`Generated short URL slug: ${shortUrlSlug}`);

• Scenario: Use the ID as a part of the URL path for shortened links or redirects.

10. Distributed Systems – Unique IDs for Multiple Servers

In distributed systems, you need to ensure that IDs are unique across multiple servers or instances. SecId can provide secure unique IDs across all nodes in the system.

import { SecId } from "secid";

const uniqueDistributedId = SecId.generate();
console.log(`Generated distributed system ID: ${uniqueDistributedId}`);

• Scenario: Generate unique identifiers in microservices architectures or when working with multiple servers to avoid collisions.

11. Tracking Items in Inventory Management

In inventory systems, each item can be assigned a unique ID using SecId to ensure every product is distinct and traceable.

import { SecId } from "secid";

const inventoryItemId = SecId.generate();
console.log(`Generated inventory item ID: ${inventoryItemId}`);

• Scenario: Assign unique IDs to each item in the inventory to track stock levels and transactions.

Customization

Custom Length and Alphabet

By default, SecId generates IDs with a predefined length and set of characters. If you need to customize the length or the alphabet, you can pass options to the generate method.

import { SecId } from "secid";

const customId = SecId.generate(
  12,  // Customize the length  [ Default: 23 ]
  'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890'  // Customize the character set
);
console.log(`Generated custom ID: ${customId}`);

Performance Considerations

• SecId generates IDs asynchronously using cryptographically secure random values.
• The library is optimized for performance, ensuring IDs are generated quickly even under heavy load.
• For applications that require extremely high throughput, consider benchmarking SecId with your use case.

Why Use secid?

• Security: IDs are generated with a cryptographically secure random function.
• Uniqueness: Built to avoid collisions, ensuring each ID is globally unique.
• Performance: Optimized to generate IDs with low latency.
• Customizable: You can adjust the ID length, character set, and more.
• Lightweight: Small package size and minimal dependencies.

License

MIT License. See License for more details.