Generate a UUID in TypeScript

How to Generate a UUID in TypeScript

Although neither the TypeScript nor JavaScript language have built-in support for generating a UUID or GUID, there are plenty of quality 3rd party, open-source libraries that you can use.

The JavaScript library we recommend for generating UUIDs in TypeScript is called (unsurprisingly), uuid. It can generate version 1, 3, 4 and 5 UUIDs.

Installing the uuid Package

To get started with the library, you'll need to install it. If you're working in a project with a package.json file, run this command to add it to the dependencies list:

% npm install uuid

Or if you want to install it globally on your computer, use this command:

% npm install -g uuid

Generating UUIDs

With the uuid library installed, you can now use it in your TypeScript code.

Here's how you can generate a version 4 UUID:

import {v4 as uuidv4} from 'uuid';

let myuuid = uuidv4();

console.out('Your UUID is: ' + myuuid);

Explanation

• Line #1 imports the version 4 UUID function. There are also functions available for generating version 1, 3 and 5 UUIDs.
• Line #3 generates the UUID and saves it in the variable, myuuid.
• The output from line #5 will be something like:

  Your UUID is: 8a6e0804-2bd0-4672-b79d-d97027f9071a
  

• NOTE: There are TypeScript typings for the uuid JavaScript library. However, as the library is small and typical usage does not deal with any custom types, adding the typings to your TypeScript project is not strictly needed.
  

  If you would like to install the TypeScript typings for the uuid Javascript library, you can use this command:

  % npm install -D @types/uuid
  

The uuid library has a number of other functions, such as for converting from a string representation of a UUID into a byte array and back. You can read more about the JavaScript uuid library on it's GitHub page.

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