zig-nanoid

Nanoid implementation in Zig

When I need a random ID, I commonly generate a UUID because the UUID specification is precise, and the specified algorithms supporting UUID are sound.

I realized that Nanoid was very popular among JavaScript aficionados. So, as a curiosity to understand the underlying algorithms, I decided to implement Nanoid in Zig, which I'm currently learning.

Code

The code includes the nanoid implementation in file nanoid.zig, and a command line main.zig demonstrating how to use the library.

Usage of the CLI

Help

$ nanoid --help
Usage:
  nanoid                            Generate a nanoid with the default size (21) and default alphabet
  nanoid -s | --size <size>         Generate a nanoid with a custom size and default alphabet
  nanoid -a | --alphabet <alphabet> Generate a nanoid with a custom alphabet (requires the size)
  nanoid -h | --help                Display this help
  nanoid -v | --version             Print the version
Examples:
  nanoid
  nanoid -s 42
  nanoid -s 42 -a 0123456789

Default

$ nanoid
bnX1GLQViedU3axkMeFH1

Custom Size

$ nanoid --size 42
AO6gpj98L1J6bNKx-CCAbUjU060yoX8YtE6ntZNmZK

Custom Size and Alphabet

$ nanoid --size 42 --alphabet 0123456789
523818966093355749724259496656326495868533

Build

The build uses a justfile https://github.com/casey/just tested on Mac OS and Linux.

To build in debug mode:

$ just build
...

To build in release mode:

$ just release
...

Test

$ just test
...

References

I did not find any concrete specs similar to the UUID specs and referred to some of the existing implementations.

Implementations

• https://github.com/ai/nanoid (MIT License)
• https://github.com/matoous/go-nanoid (MIT License)
• https://github.com/puyuan/py-nanoid (MIT License)

Other References

• Why is NanoID Replacing UUID?