---
id: cyksuid
version: "2.1.0"
license: BSD
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# cyksuid — Cython implementation of ksuid

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 213.6K/mo

## What it is and what it does

CyKSUID is a Cython-based implementation of KSUID, a sortable unique identifier format that combines a timestamp with random data. It generates IDs that are lexicographically sortable by creation time, making them useful for databases and distributed systems where time-ordered uniqueness matters. The package provides two APIs (v1 and v2) and exposes IDs in multiple formats: raw bytes, hex, base32-encoded strings, and as Python datetime objects.

The library has no runtime dependencies beyond Python and a C compiler, and ships with pre-built wheels for most common platforms. It's positioned as a high-performance alternative to UUID libraries when you need sortability and timestamp extraction without external dependencies. The benchmark data shows it generates IDs roughly 3-4x faster than comparable implementations.

Use it for:

- Generate sortable IDs for database records that need to be ordered by creation time without a separate timestamp column.
- Create distributed system identifiers that are globally unique and time-ordered without requiring a central ID service.
- Replace UUIDs in applications where both uniqueness and sortability are required for efficient indexing.
- Extract creation timestamps from IDs after the fact using the parse function and datetime property.
- Build audit logs or event streams where ID ordering reflects event sequence without explicit timestamps.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Generates and parses KSUIDs (K-Sortable Globally Unique IDs) using a high-performance Cython implementation, providing sortable unique identifiers with embedded timestamps.

Yes, if you need sortable unique IDs with embedded timestamps and want better performance than pure-Python alternatives. The permissive BSD license, lack of runtime dependencies, and production-stable status make it low-risk. The aging maintenance status (last release 688 days ago) is a minor concern but not a blocker—the code is stable and the repository remains active. Install friction is moderate due to compilation, but pre-built wheels cover most platforms.

## Install

pip install cyksuid
uv add cyksuid
poetry add cyksuid

## Installing cyksuid

Before you install: Medium install friction due to compiled wheels, but pre-built binaries are available for common platforms (macOS, Linux, Windows across x86_64 and ARM). Last release was 688 days ago; repository remains active with recent commits and is marked production-stable.

License in practice: BSD license is permissive and imposes minimal restrictions; you may use, modify, and distribute this package in commercial and private projects with only attribution required.

Quickstart:

pip install cyksuid

from cyksuid.v2 import ksuid, parse

uid = ksuid()
print(uid.encoded)  # b'2G2IfS6177qFICE3w10eMjgYu89'
print(uid.timestamp)  # 1665580354.0
print(uid.datetime)  # datetime with UTC timezone

Requires a C compiler at install time if pre-built wheels are unavailable for your platform; Python 3.7 or later.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the v1 and v2 APIs are both actively maintained or if v1 is deprecated.
- Performance characteristics under high-concurrency workloads beyond the single-threaded benchmark shown.
- Whether KSUIDs generated by this implementation are compatible with the original Go KSUID library in all edge cases.
- Exact byte length and structure of generated IDs.

## Package facts

- License: BSD (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: medium
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 213.6K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

ksuid generation python, sortable unique id generator, k-sortable globally unique ids, timestamp-based uuid alternative, cython uuid library, distributed id generation, unique-ids, sortable-identifiers, distributed-systems

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/cyksuid) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/cyksuid/)