Question 1

What is a Nano ID?

Accepted Answer

Nano ID is a tiny, secure, URL-friendly unique string ID generator. It uses a larger alphabet than UUID (A-Za-z0-9_-) which makes IDs shorter while maintaining similar collision resistance. A default 21-character Nano ID has ~126 bits of entropy.

Question 2

How does Nano ID compare to UUID?

Accepted Answer

Nano ID is more compact than UUID (21 chars vs 36 chars) and URL-friendly by default (no special characters that need encoding). Both offer similar collision resistance. UUID is an established standard with wide tooling support, while Nano ID is preferred when shorter, cleaner IDs are needed.

Question 3

How long should a Nano ID be?

Accepted Answer

The default length of 21 characters provides ~126 bits of entropy, which is comparable to UUID v4. For most applications, 21 characters is sufficient. If you need shorter IDs, consider the trade-off: fewer characters means higher collision probability. Use the collision calculator at nanoid.cc to estimate.

Question 4

Is Nano ID collision-safe?

Accepted Answer

Yes, for practical purposes. With the default 21-character length and 64-character alphabet, you would need to generate IDs at a rate of 1,000 per second for ~109 trillion years to have a 1% probability of a collision. Shorter IDs or smaller alphabets reduce this safety margin.

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