UUID Generator

Code guide

Generate UUIDs in C++

Generate UUIDs in C++ using Boost.UUID, with random v4 generation and string conversion examples.

By UUID GeneratorUpdated Reviewed for accuracy

C++ has no standard UUID type, so most projects use Boost.UUID, a mature header library that generates and formats UUIDs.

Key takeaways

  • Boost.UUID is the common choice for C++ UUIDs.
  • random_generator produces a version 4 UUID.
  • to_string converts a UUID to canonical text.

Generate a random UUID with Boost

Create a random_generator once and call it to produce version 4 values, then convert to a string for output or storage.

#include <boost/uuid/uuid.hpp>
#include <boost/uuid/uuid_generators.hpp>
#include <boost/uuid/uuid_io.hpp>
#include <iostream>

int main() {
    boost::uuids::random_generator gen;
    boost::uuids::uuid id = gen();          // version 4
    std::cout << boost::uuids::to_string(id) << "\n";
}

Parse a UUID string

Use the string generator to parse canonical text into a uuid, which throws on clearly invalid input.

#include <boost/uuid/string_generator.hpp>

boost::uuids::string_generator parse;
boost::uuids::uuid id = parse("018f2f7a-07b2-7d6e-9c37-43e1577b8b44");

FAQ

Generate UUIDs in C++ questions

Does C++ have a standard UUID type?

No. The C++ standard library has no UUID type, so Boost.UUID or a platform library is commonly used.

Is Boost.UUID random secure?

random_generator uses a strong random source by default, which is suitable for identifiers.

How do I convert a Boost UUID to a string?

Call boost::uuids::to_string(id) to get the canonical lowercase form.

Generate UUID in C++ - Boost.UUID Examples