UUID Generator
Choose how many UUIDs to generate - each one is a random version-4 UUID, formatted per the standard.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
Frequently asked questions
What is a UUID?
A Universally Unique Identifier - a 128-bit value formatted as 32 hexadecimal digits in five groups (like 8-4-4-4-12 characters), designed so that generating one independently, anywhere, is astronomically unlikely to collide with any other UUID ever generated.
What does 'version 4' mean for a UUID?
Version 4 UUIDs are generated from random (or pseudo-random) bits, as opposed to other UUID versions based on timestamps or namespaces - it's the most common type for general-purpose unique IDs, and what this generator produces.
How likely is a UUID collision?
Effectively negligible - with 122 random bits (a few bits are fixed to mark the version), you'd need to generate roughly a billion UUIDs per second for about 85 years before a 50% chance of any collision, which is why UUIDs are trusted as unique identifiers without checking a central registry.
Can I use a UUID as a database primary key?
Yes, this is one of the most common uses - UUIDs let you generate unique IDs independently across multiple servers or services without checking a central database first, avoiding the collisions that could happen with simple auto-incrementing numbers in a distributed system.
Do the UUIDs generated here always follow the same format, like 8-4-4-4-12?
Yes - every UUID follows the standard 36-character format of five hyphen-separated hex groups (8-4-4-4-12 digits), which is the RFC 4122 layout that databases, APIs, and libraries expect to parse.
Is a GUID the same thing as a UUID?
Functionally yes - GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) is Microsoft's term for the same 128-bit identifier concept as a UUID, and the two terms are used interchangeably in most contexts, including by this generator's output.