node-simpleflake

Distributed id generation for the lazy. Inspired by this article.

Generates ids consisting of a 41 bit time (millisecond precision with custom epoch) followed 23 random bits. Result is a Buffer with an added feature of base58 and base10 conversions for producing compact and readable strings.

Custom epoch starts on 2000-01-01T00:00:00.000Z, which should be good until around mid-2069.

Install

npm install simpleflake

Use

Generate an id using current time and a random sequence number:

var flake = require('simpleflake');
var id = flake();                         // <Buffer 34 62 a7 d5 c7 36 7c b9>
id.toString('hex');                       // '3462a7d5c7367cb9'
id.toString('base58');                    // '9mCpPjW7D5a'
id.toString('base10');                    // '3774763974302006457'

Generate an id using deterministic time and sequence:

var id = flake(Date.UTC(2014, 1, 1), 1);  // <Buffer 33 bf f7 7e 00 00 00 01>

Parse an id into its time and sequence components:

flake.parse(id);                                  // [ 1396671731598, 3570873 ]
flake.parse('9mCpPjW7D5a', 'base58');             // [ 1396671731598, 3570873 ]
flake.parse('3774763974302006457', 'base10');     // [ 1396671731598, 3570873 ]

Customise generation options (default values shown):

flake.options.epoch = Date.UTC(2000, 0, 1);
flake.options.timebits = 41;

License

MIT