UUID v4 Best Practices for APIs and Databases
When to use UUIDs, where to store them, and how to avoid common implementation pitfalls.
Last updated: May 4, 2026
When UUID v4 is a good fit
Use UUID v4 when IDs must be generated independently across clients, services, or regions without central coordination.
Storage recommendations
Prefer native UUID column types when available. If not, store as fixed-length lowercase strings and index carefully to keep lookups fast.
Common pitfalls
Do not use UUIDs as secrets. They are unique identifiers, not authentication tokens. For secret values, use dedicated secret generation tools.