What is Sqids?

Sqids (pronounced "squids") is an open-source library that lets you generate YouTube-looking IDs from numbers. These IDs are short, can be generated from a custom alphabet and are guaranteed to be collision-free. Read more .

This is what they look like:

https://example.com/Lqj8a0

Ruby

Ruby code is located at https://github.com/sqids/sqids-ruby

To encode & decode:

sqids = Sqids.new
id = sqids.encode([1, 2, 3]) # '86Rf07'
numbers = sqids.decode(id) # [1, 2, 3]

Randomize IDs by providing a custom alphabet:

sqids = Sqids.new(alphabet: 'FxnXM1kBN6cuhsAvjW3Co7l2RePyY8DwaU04Tzt9fHQrqSVKdpimLGIJOgb5ZE')
id = sqids.encode([1, 2, 3]) # 'B4aajs'
numbers = sqids.decode(id) # [1, 2, 3]

Enforce a minimum length for IDs:

sqids = Sqids.new(min_length: 10)
id = sqids.encode([1, 2, 3]) # '86Rf07xd4z'
numbers = sqids.decode(id) # [1, 2, 3]

Read more at https://github.com/sqids/sqids-ruby

If you're looking for the original Hashids Ruby, you can find it here .

Why use them?

The main use of Sqids is purely visual. If you'd like to use IDs instead of numbers in your webapp, Sqids could be a good choice:

Use Cases

  • Link shortening Safe to use in URLs
  • Event IDs Collision-free encoding/decoding
  • One-Time Passwords Short & profanity-free

Not Good For

  • Sensitive data This is not an encryption library
  • User IDs Can be decoded, revealing user count

Features

  • 🆔 Generate short IDs from non-negative numbers
  • Easy encoding & decoding
  • 🫣 Auto-generated IDs do not contain common profanity
  • 🎲 Support for custom IDs through shuffled alphabet
  • 😍 40 programming languages (20 using new design)
  • 📌 Every version produces the same IDs
  • 🍻 Small library with a permissive license

Example / Playground