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The UUID generator helps you create universally unique identifiers (UUIDs) using different versions and algorithms. You can also validate existing UUIDs and decode time-based versions to extract embedded timestamp information.

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Features

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Generate UUIDs

You can generate UUIDs using six different versions:
  • v1 - Time-based with MAC address and clock sequence
  • v3 - Name-based using MD5 hash (requires namespace and name)
  • v4 - Random/pseudo-random generation (most commonly used)
  • v5 - Name-based using SHA-1 hash (requires namespace and name)
  • v6 - Time-ordered version of v1 (better for database indexing)
  • v7 - Unix timestamp-based (newest, sortable by creation time)
UUID v4 is the most widely used version for general purposes. It generates cryptographically strong random identifiers.

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Bulk generation

Generate up to 100 UUIDs at once by setting the quantity field. This is useful when you need multiple unique identifiers for testing or batch operations.

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Namespace-based generation

For v3 and v5, you need to provide a namespace and name:
  1. Select a predefined namespace (DNS, URL, OID, or X500)
  2. Or enter a custom namespace UUID
  3. Provide a name string
  4. Generate deterministic UUIDs based on these inputs
The same namespace and name combination will always produce the same UUID. This makes v3 and v5 useful for creating reproducible identifiers.

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Validate and decode

Switch to the Validator/Decoder tab to:
  • Verify if a string is a valid UUID format
  • Identify which version the UUID uses
  • Decode time-based UUIDs (v1, v6, v7) to extract:
    • Timestamp information
    • Clock sequence (v1, v6)
    • Node/MAC address (v1, v6)
    • Variant type
    • Random data (v7)
UUIDs v3, v4, and v5 cannot be decoded because they are hash-based (v3/v5) or randomly generated (v4).

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Copy and download

  • Click the copy button next to any UUID to copy it to your clipboard
  • Use “Copy All” to copy all generated UUIDs as a newline-separated list
  • Use “Download” to save all UUIDs to a text file

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Keyboard shortcuts

  • Cmd/Ctrl + Enter - Generate new UUID(s)
  • Cmd/Ctrl + C - Copy most recent UUID
  • Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Backspace - Clear all

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Use cases

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Database primary keys

Use v4 for random primary keys, or v7 for time-sortable keys that improve database indexing performance.

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API request IDs

Generate v4 UUIDs to track requests across distributed systems.

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Content addressing

Use v5 with a URL namespace to create deterministic identifiers for web resources.
For new applications, consider v7. It combines the benefits of time-based ordering (like v1) with better privacy (no MAC address) and uses standard Unix timestamps.

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