nanoid is a tiny, secure, and fast URL-friendly unique string ID generator for JavaScript. Unlike UUIDs, it's designed to be compact, using a smaller character set to create shorter IDs. It's perfect for generating unique identifiers in web applications and backends where URL safety and efficiency are critical. nanoid is small in size, has no dependencies, and supports various programming languages. Its speed and security make it a popular choice for replacing UUID generation.
Nanoid's release frequency has varied significantly since its first release in August 2017. It experienced peaks in 2018 and 2020, with multiple versions released per month. Since then, the release rate has slowed, with occasional bursts. There have been no releases since March 2025, with active support for version 3.3 ending in March 2025.
Nanoid's npm package downloads show a strong upward trend. Starting at 146 million in March 2024, downloads generally increased, reaching a high of 285 million in July 2025. August saw a slight dip, but September 2025 is already showing significant downloads at 33 million, suggesting continued growth, though incomplete month data skews the real total.
