shortuuid

A generator library for concise, unambiguous and URL-safe UUIDs.

shortuuid Permissive license BSD-3-Clause Active ★ 2,196 v1.0.13 released 2024-03-11

Install

shortuuid on PyPI

pip

pip install shortuuid

uv

uv add shortuuid

poetry

poetry add shortuuid

Package facts

License	BSD-3-Clause (permissive)
Python support	supports the current Python release (>=3.6)
Install friction	low — pure-Python wheel
Runtime dependencies	none
Maintenance	actively maintained — 885 days since the last release
Last repo commit	2026-06-20
First released	2011-01-08
Popularity	one of the top 1,000 most-downloaded packages on PyPI (30-day window, as of 2026-08-13)
Known vulnerabilities	none known (OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-13)

Evidence: shortuuid-1.0.13-py3-none-any.whl

License :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules

About shortuuid

from the package's own PyPI description — quoted content, verbatim

Description

shortuuid is a simple python library that generates concise, unambiguous, URL-safe UUIDs.

Often, one needs to use non-sequential IDs in places where users will see them, but the IDs must be as concise and easy to use as possible. shortuuid solves this problem by generating uuids using Python's built-in uuid module and then translating them to base57 using lowercase and uppercase letters and digits, and removing similar-looking characters such as l, 1, I, O and 0.

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Installation

To install shortuuid you need:

Python 3.6+

If you have the dependencies, you have multiple options of installation:

With pip (preferred), do pip install shortuuid.
With setuptools, do easy_install shortuuid.
To install the source, download it from https://github.com/stochastic-technologies/shortuuid and run python setup.py install.

Usage

To use shortuuid, just import it in your project like so:

&gt;&gt;&gt; import shortuuid

You can then generate a short UUID:

```python >>>...

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AI interpretation — verify before relying

AI-generated interpretation of the package facts above; every digit, version, license, or vulnerability id it cites is grounded in the facts already shown on this page

shortuuid generates concise, URL-safe unique identifiers by encoding Python UUIDs into base57, with optional cryptographically secure random strings and Django field support.

No runtime dependencies and a pure-Python wheel distribution make installation straightforward. The package is actively maintained with recent commits and indicates stable, community-vetted code.

BSD-3-Clause is permissive; you may use shortuuid freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions, provided you include the license notice.

Usage

pip install shortuuid

import shortuuid
short_id = shortuuid.uuid()
print(short_id)  # e.g., 'vytxeTZskVKR7C7WgdSP3d'

Requires Python 3.6 or later.

Verdict: shortuuid is a lightweight, zero-dependency library with active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities, and permissive licensing. It is well-suited for projects needing compact, human-friendly unique identifiers or Django model fields.

Needs verification

Performance characteristics under high-volume UUID generation (throughput, memory usage).
Collision probability for truncated IDs shorter than the default 22 characters in production scenarios.
Community adoption metrics beyond repository activity.

short uuid generatorurl-safe unique idsbase57 uuid encodingconcise identifier libraryrandom string generationuuid to base57 conversioncompact unique identifiers