README

Pikaid (PHP)

Small · Sortable · Secure ID generator

Pikaid is a 26-character, lowercase Base36 identifier composed of a 7-character timestamp and a 19-character cryptographically secure randomness. It provides a modern, compact alternative to UUID and ULID, with built-in lexicographical sortability and strong collision resistance.

Specifications, Concepts, Design & Benchmarks

Full specifications and other information are avalible at pikaid/pikaid-specs.

Requirements

• PHP 7.4 or higher
• ext-bcmath or ext-gmp (optional, recommended for performance)

Installation

Install via Composer:

composer require pikaid/pikaid-php

Then include Composer's autoloader in your project:

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

Basic Usage

<?php

use Pikaid\Pikaid;

// Generate a new Pikaid
$id = Pikaid::generate();
echo "New ID: $id\n"; // e.g. 0swct4q01ch83h91onl6l47vb6

// Validate an existing ID
if (Pikaid::isValid($id)) {
    echo "ID is valid!\n";
} else {
    echo "Invalid ID format.\n";
}

// Parse a Pikaid into its components
try {
    $result = Pikaid::parse($id);
    /** @var DateTimeImmutable $timestamp */
    $timestamp = $result['timestamp'];
    $randomHex = $result['randomness'];

    echo "Created at: " . $timestamp->format('Y-m-d H:i:s') . " UTC\n";
    echo "Randomness (hex): $randomHex\n";
} catch (InvalidArgumentException $e) {
    echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
}

API Reference

Pikaid::generate(): string

Generates a new 26-character Pikaid.

Pikaid::isValid(string $id): bool

Checks whether the given string matches the Pikaid format.

Pikaid::parse(string $id): array

Parses a Pikaid into:

• timestamp: DateTimeImmutable (UTC)
• randomness: string (hex representation)

Throws InvalidArgumentException if the format is invalid.

License

Pikaid is released under the MIT License.