ksuid
A small python package for creating ksuids
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need sortable unique identifiers and can tolerate source-only installation. The package is stable, dependency-free, and solves a real problem (time-ordered IDs) that standard UUIDs don't address. However, verify Python 3.x compatibility with your target version before committing, and be aware that no release has shipped since 2017 despite active repository maintenance—this suggests the code is considered complete rather than actively developed.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Python 3.x required; currently only tested for Python 3.x per documentation.
- High install friction due to source-only distribution (ksuid-1.3.tar.gz).
- Repository shows active maintenance with recent commits (2026-04-13), but the package has not received a release update since 2017-06-12, suggesting the codebase is stable but not actively developed.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license is permissive, allowing use in commercial and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions beyond attribution.
last release 2017-06-12 (3350 days) · last repo commit 2026-04-13 · 98 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 93,447 downloads/mo, #13,385 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install ksuid
from ksuid import ksuid
x = ksuid()
print(x)
print(x.getTimestamp())
print(x.toBase62())- Whether the package works reliably with modern Python versions (3.10+) given no release since 2017
- Performance characteristics under high-volume ID generation
- Collision probability claims relative to UUID4 in production scenarios
What it is and what it does
KSUID is a Python library for generating K-sorted unique identifiers—20-byte values combining a 4-byte timestamp with 16 bytes of random data. The timestamp component allows KSUIDs to be naturally sorted by creation time, addressing a key limitation of UUIDs. The library provides methods to extract the timestamp, convert to datetime objects, serialize to bytes, and encode/decode using Base62 for compact string representation.
The package has no runtime dependencies and is designed as a lightweight utility for applications needing distributed, time-ordered ID generation. It's particularly useful in systems where both uniqueness and temporal ordering matter, such as event logging, database record tracking, or distributed systems requiring causality-aware identifiers.
Use it for
- Generate time-ordered event IDs in logging or audit systems where both uniqueness and chronological sorting are needed
- Create sortable primary keys for database records that reflect insertion order without explicit timestamp columns
- Assign unique identifiers in distributed systems where multiple nodes generate IDs independently without coordination
- Serialize IDs to compact Base62 strings for use in URLs or user-facing identifiers
- Replace UUID4 in applications where the 122-bit entropy of UUIDs is insufficient and time-ordering is valuable
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need sortable unique identifiers and can tolerate source-only installation.
The package is stable, dependency-free, and solves a real problem (time-ordered IDs) that standard UUIDs don't address. However, verify Python 3.x compatibility with your target version before committing, and be aware that no release has shipped since 2017 despite active repository maintenance—this suggests the code is considered complete rather than actively developed.
Install
ksuid on PyPI
Before you install
High install friction due to source-only distribution (ksuid-1.3.tar.gz). Repository shows active maintenance with recent commits (2026-04-13), but the package has not received a release update since 2017-06-12, suggesting the codebase is stable but not actively developed.
Python 3.x required; currently only tested for Python 3.x per documentation.
License in practice
MIT license is permissive, allowing use in commercial and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions beyond attribution.
Quickstart
pip install ksuid
from ksuid import ksuid
x = ksuid()
print(x)
print(x.getTimestamp())
print(x.toBase62())Verify before relying
- Whether the package works reliably with modern Python versions (3.10+) given no release since 2017
- Performance characteristics under high-volume ID generation
- Collision probability claims relative to UUID4 in production scenarios
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | High. Source build required |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 3,350 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 93,447 / month, #13,385 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
Evidence: ksuid-1.3.tar.gz
Tags
Let your AI agent find packages like this
Example. Real query, live index.
You found this page by searching. An agent finds it by wishing: SkillFed indexes 14,416 PyPI packages by what they can do, searchable in plain language.
wish › “time-ordered identifier”
- ksuidGenerates sortable unique identifiers (KSUIDs) that combine a…
- timeflakeGenerates 128-bit, time-ordered, URL-safe unique identifiers (UUIDs)…
- uuid-extensionGenerates UUID version 7 identifiers—time-ordered, RFC-compliant…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Software Development packages
Provides backported and experimental type hints for Python 3.9+, allowing use of newer typing features on older Python versions and enabling early experimentation with type system PEPs before they enter the standard library.
NumPy provides an N-dimensional array object and a comprehensive suite of mathematical, linear algebra, Fourier transform, and random number functions for scientific computing in Python.
FastAPI is a Python web framework for building REST APIs using type hints, with automatic request validation, serialization, and interactive API documentation.
Provides a way to document function parameters, class attributes, return types, and variables inline using Python's `Annotated` type hint syntax instead of traditional docstrings.
Typer builds command-line applications from Python functions using type hints, automatically generating help text, argument parsing, and shell completion.
Install it if you are building CLIs in Python.
Distlib provides low-level packaging utilities for building, distributing, and managing Python software—including metadata handling, version specifiers, wheel support, script installation, and dependency resolution.
See also cyksuid · fractional-indexing · pksuid · svix-ksuid · timeflake · uuid-extension · python-ulid · ulid-py · ulid · uuid7-standard