nid

Nice clean-mouthed random id generation, without any swearing!

A Node.js module that generates random identifiers for public consumption. Swear words not included.

| | This open source module is sponsored and supported by Voxgig. | |---|---|

What it Does

This module is useful for custom short links, password generation and any sort of unique tag an end user might see.

By default the big seven curse words are avoided (thanks @dshaw!). The Battlestar Galactica version of one of the big seven is also avoided.

NOTE: this module is not cryptographically secure and should only be used in low-risk environments.

Quick example

var nid = require('nid')

// generate a 6 character alphanumberic id, like: ytnzt2
console.log( nid() )

// generate a 3 character alphanumberic id, like: 5rg
console.log( nid(3) )

Install

npm install nid

Length

You can change the length of the identifier string by passing an integer to nid, as per the quick example above. The default alphanumeric alphabet is used.

Options

You can change the ids generated by passing an options object to the nid function. A new, custom, function is returned. For example:

var mynid = require('nid')({length:8})

// generate an 8 character alphanumberic id, like: qnzvetvp
console.log( mynid() )

You have the following options:

• length: number of characters in the id string
• alphabet: a string containing the set of characters in the id, e.g. 1234567890abcdef
• curses: specify the list of curse words to avoid (you can use exclude as an alias if you don't want to sound quaint)

You can specify the curses as:

• an array of strings: ["gosh","darn"]
• a CSV formatted string: "gosh, darn"
• a regular expression: matches are excluded
• a function: first arg is the proposed id, return true to exclude

As a convenience you can use the following alphabet shortcuts:

• hex: alphabet is '0123456789abcdef'
• HEX: alphabet is '0123456789ABCDEF'

Examples:

var nid = require('nid')

var nid_ABC = nid({alphabet:'ABC'})
console.log(nid_ABC()) // prints something like BCCABB

var nid_hex = nid({hex:1})
console.log(nid_hex()) // prints something like 47b5df

var nid_noa = nid({curses:/a/})
console.log(nid_noa()) // never includes an 'a' character

How it Works

Keep getting a random character from a given alphabet of characters, until you have enough to meet the length requirement. Then check if it contains a curse word (case-insensitive). If so, try again.