YouTubeID for TypeScript

Generate YouTube-style short IDs from numbers. Lightweight, fast, and reversible base62 encoder with optional obfuscation.

Other programming languages

• PHP: kvz/youtube-id
• Python: wow-apps/youtube-id-py
• TypeScript: wow-apps/youtube-id-ts
• Go: wow-apps/youtube-id-go

Features

• Lightweight - Zero dependencies, pure TypeScript
• Fast - Simple base62 encoding/decoding
• Reversible - Encode and decode without data loss
• Obfuscation - Optional secure key to shuffle the dictionary
• Type-safe - Full TypeScript support with strict types
• Universal - Works in Node.js and browsers (ESM + CJS)

Installation

npm install youtube-like-id

Or with yarn/pnpm:

yarn add youtube-like-id
pnpm add youtube-like-id

Quick Start

import { toAlphanumeric, toNumeric } from 'youtube-like-id';

// Encode a number to a short string
toAlphanumeric(12345);  // -> 'dnh'

// Decode back to number
toNumeric('dnh');  // -> 12345

Usage

Basic Encoding/Decoding

import { toAlphanumeric, toNumeric } from 'youtube-like-id';

// Number to alphanumeric
toAlphanumeric(0);        // -> 'a'
toAlphanumeric(61);       // -> 'Z'
toAlphanumeric(62);       // -> 'ba'
toAlphanumeric(12345);    // -> 'dnh'
toAlphanumeric(999999);   // -> 'eGGf'

// Alphanumeric to number
toNumeric('dnh');         // -> 12345

With Secure Key (Obfuscation)

Use a secure key to shuffle the dictionary, making IDs harder to predict:

import { toAlphanumeric, toNumeric } from 'youtube-like-id';

// Without key
toAlphanumeric(12345);                          // -> 'dnh'

// With secure key (different output)
toAlphanumeric(12345, { secureKey: 'secret' }); // -> 'UDJ'

// Decode with the same key
toNumeric('UDJ', { secureKey: 'secret' });      // -> 12345

Case Transformation

import { toAlphanumeric, Transform } from 'youtube-like-id';

toAlphanumeric(12345, { transform: Transform.UPPER });  // -> 'DNH'
toAlphanumeric(12345, { transform: Transform.LOWER });  // -> 'dnh'

Encoder Factory

For repeated operations with the same settings, use the Encoder class:

import { create, Transform } from 'youtube-like-id';

// Create encoder with preset options
const enc = create({ secureKey: 'my-secret', transform: Transform.UPPER });

// Encode
enc.encode(12345);      // -> 'HQJ' (transformed for display)
enc.encodeRaw(12345);   // -> 'hqj' (raw for storage/decoding)

// Decode
enc.decode('hqj');      // -> 12345

API Reference

Functions

toAlphanumeric(number, options?)

Convert a number to a short alphanumeric string.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
number	number	required	The number to convert
options.padUp	number	0	Padding value
options.secureKey	string	-	Key to shuffle dictionary
options.transform	Transform	NONE	Case transformation

toNumeric(alphanumeric, options?)

Convert an alphanumeric string back to a number.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
alphanumeric	string	required	The string to convert
options.padUp	number	0	Padding value (must match encoding)
options.secureKey	string	-	Key (must match encoding)

create(options?)

Create a reusable Encoder instance with preset options.

Classes

Encoder

Reusable encoder with preset options.

• encode(number) - Convert number to alphanumeric (with transform)
• encodeRaw(number) - Convert number to alphanumeric (without transform)
• decode(alphanumeric) - Convert alphanumeric to number

Transform

Enum for case transformation:

• Transform.NONE - No transformation
• Transform.UPPER - Uppercase output
• Transform.LOWER - Lowercase output

Types

interface ConvertOptions {
  padUp?: number;
  secureKey?: string;
  transform?: Transform;
}

Use Cases

• URL shorteners - Convert database IDs to short URLs
• Public IDs - Hide sequential database IDs from users
• Share codes - Generate readable codes for sharing
• Invite links - Create short invitation tokens

Performance

The library uses base62 encoding (a-z, 0-9, A-Z) which provides:

Number Range	Output Length
0 - 61	1 character
62 - 3,843	2 characters
3,844 - 238,327	3 characters
238,328 - 14,776,335	4 characters

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our Contributing Guidelines and Code of Conduct.

# Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/wow-apps/youtube-id-ts.git
cd youtube-id-ts
npm install

# Run tests
npm test

# Build
npm run build

Credits

A TypeScript port of the YouTube-style ID generator originally created by Kevin van Zonneveld and contributors.

License

MIT © Oleksii Samara, Kevin van Zonneveld