Last Updated: 3/9/2026

Installation

Choose the installation method that matches your project setup.

ESM (Recommended)

For modern JavaScript projects using ES modules with import statements.

Nano ID 5 works with ESM projects in Node.js, browsers, and bundlers like Vite, Webpack, or Rollup.


npm install nanoid


import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
 
const id = nanoid()

For projects using require() and CommonJS modules.

Works out of the box:


npm install nanoid


const { nanoid } = require('nanoid')
 
const id = nanoid()

Requires experimental flag:


node --experimental-require-module your-script.js

Use dynamic import:


let nanoid
 
module.exports.createID = async () => {
  if (!nanoid) {
    ({ nanoid } = await import('nanoid'))
  }
  return nanoid()
}

For older Node.js versions, use Nano ID 3.x (still supported):


npm install nanoid@3

JSR is a modern alternative to npm with open governance. Works in Node.js, Deno, Bun, and other runtimes.


npx jsr add @sitnik/nanoid


import { nanoid } from '@sitnik/nanoid'
 
const id = nanoid()


deno add jsr:@sitnik/nanoid

Or import directly:


import { nanoid } from 'jsr:@sitnik/nanoid'

For quick prototypes and experiments. Not recommended for production due to performance and reliability concerns.


import { nanoid } from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/nanoid/nanoid.js'
 
const id = nanoid()

⚠️ CDN imports have several drawbacks:

For production apps, use npm/JSR installation.

Test your installation:


import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
 
console.log(nanoid())
// Should print something like: "V1StGXR8_Z5jdHi6B-myT"

Some platforms require additional configuration: