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Getting StartedQuick Start Guide

Last Updated: 3/9/2026

Quick Start Guide

Get up and running with Nano ID in under 2 minutes.

Installation

Install via npm:

npm install nanoid

Basic Usage

Generate a unique ID:

import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
 
const id = nanoid()
console.log(id)
// => "V1StGXR8_Z5jdHi6B-myT"

That’s it! You now have a secure, unique, URL-friendly 21-character ID.

Common Use Cases

Database Records

import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
 
const user = {
  id: nanoid(),
  name: 'Alice',
  email: 'alice@example.com'
}
 
db.users.insert(user)

URL Slugs

import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
 
const shortUrl = {
  slug: nanoid(10), // Shorter ID for URLs
  destination: 'https://example.com/very/long/url'
}
 
// Access at: https://short.link/IRFa-VaY2b

Session Tokens

import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
 
function createSession(userId) {
  return {
    sessionId: nanoid(),
    userId,
    createdAt: Date.now()
  }
}

File Names

import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
import fs from 'fs'
 
const tempFileName = `upload-${nanoid()}.tmp`
fs.writeFileSync(tempFileName, data)

Adjusting ID Length

The default 21-character ID has extremely low collision probability. For different needs:

import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
 
// Standard (21 chars) - safest
const standardId = nanoid()
 
// Short (10 chars) - for URLs, less safe
const shortId = nanoid(10)
 
// Long (30 chars) - extra paranoid
const longId = nanoid(30)

Collision Safety

⚠️ Important: Shorter IDs = higher collision risk.

Use the ID Collision Calculator  to check safety for your use case.

Rule of thumb:

  • 21 chars (default): ~1B chance of collision with 103 trillion IDs
  • 10 chars: Safe for thousands of IDs
  • 8 chars: Safe for hundreds of IDs

Custom Alphabets

For specific requirements (hex, numbers-only, etc.):

import { customAlphabet } from 'nanoid'
 
// Hex IDs
const nanoidHex = customAlphabet('0123456789abcdef', 16)
const hexId = nanoidHex()
// => "4f90d13a42a8c7e1"
 
// Numbers only
const nanoidNumeric = customAlphabet('0123456789', 12)
const numericId = nanoidNumeric()
// => "382947561029"
 
// Lowercase alphanumeric
const nanoidLower = customAlphabet('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789', 16)
const lowerId = nanoidLower()
// => "4f90d13a42c7e1kl"

See Custom Alphabet for more options and safety considerations.

Non-Secure IDs (Faster)

For non-critical use cases where security isn’t important:

import { nanoid } from 'nanoid/non-secure'
 
const id = nanoid()
// Faster, but not cryptographically secure

⚠️ Only use for:

  • Development/testing
  • Non-sensitive temporary IDs
  • Performance-critical scenarios where security doesn’t matter

Never use for:

  • User authentication
  • Session tokens
  • Payment or financial records
  • Any security-sensitive context

Framework Integration

React

import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
import { useState } from 'react'
 
function TodoList() {
  const [todos, setTodos] = useState([])
 
  const addTodo = (text) => {
    setTodos([...todos, { id: nanoid(), text }])
  }
 
  return (
    <ul>
      {todos.map(todo => (
        <li key={todo.id}>{todo.text}</li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  )
}

⚠️ Don’t generate IDs during render - see React Integration for proper patterns.

Node.js Express

import express from 'express'
import { nanoid } from 'nanoid'
 
const app = express()
 
app.post('/api/items', (req, res) => {
  const item = {
    id: nanoid(),
    ...req.body,
    createdAt: Date.now()
  }
  
  db.items.insert(item)
  res.json(item)
})

Troubleshooting

”Cannot find module ‘nanoid’”

Make sure you’ve installed it:

npm install nanoid

CommonJS require() not working

See Installation - CommonJS for version-specific solutions.

React Native: “crypto.getRandomValues is not a function”

React Native needs a polyfill - see React Native Setup.

Next Steps

Now that you’re generating IDs, explore:

OverviewReact Integration