`EncodedId` and `EncodedId::Rails`

Customizable ID obfuscation for Ruby and Rails

What are these gems?

encoded_id is a zero-dependency Ruby gem that lets you encode numerical or hex IDs into obfuscated strings that can be used in URLs. These encoded IDs are reversible, meaning they can be decoded back to the original values.

encoded_id-rails integrates EncodedId with Rails and ActiveRecord models, providing a way to use encoded IDs in your Rails applications.

Why use EncodedId?

Hide database IDs: Obfuscate sequential database IDs to avoid exposing internal record counts
Friendly URLs: Create user-friendly, readable URLs while maintaining the ability to decode
URL customization: Add human-readable slugs, prefixes, and formatting
Multiple ID encoding: Encode multiple IDs into a single string
Safe defaults: Limits on encoded ID lengths to prevent CPU and memory-intensive encode/decodes
Flexible configuration: Customize alphabet, length, and formatting

Quick Example

# Basic encoding and decoding
coder = EncodedId::ReversibleId.new(salt: "my-secret-salt")
coder.encode(123)                # => "p5w9-z27j"
coder.decode("p5w9-z27j")        # => [123]

# Encode multiple IDs
coder.encode([78, 45])           # => "z2j7-0dmw"
coder.decode("z2j7-0dmw")        # => [78, 45]

# With Rails integration
class User < ApplicationRecord
  include EncodedId::Rails::Model
  include EncodedId::Rails::SluggedPathParam
  
  def name_for_encoded_id_slug
    full_name
  end
end

user = User.create(full_name: "John Doe")
user.encoded_id                  # => "user_p5w9-z27j"
user.slugged_encoded_id          # => "john-doe--user_p5w9-z27j"
User.find_by_encoded_id("user_p5w9-z27j")  # => #<User id: 123>

Core Features

EncodedId

🔄 Reversible encoding based on an improved Hashids implementation
👥 Support for encoding multiple IDs in one string
🔡 Customizable alphabets with at least 16 characters
👓 Character mapping for easily confused characters (e.g., 0/O, 1/I/l)
🤬 Built-in profanity filtering
🤓 Optional grouping of characters for improved readability
🥽 Configurable length limits for security

EncodedId::Rails

💅 Slugged IDs for URL-friendly representations (e.g., my-product--p5w9-z27j)
🔖 Annotated IDs to identify model types (e.g., user_p5w9-z27j)
🔍 Finder methods to look up records by encoded IDs
🚦 ActiveRecord integration with model mixins
💾 Optional database persistence for efficient lookups

High Performance

EncodedId uses a custom HashId implementation that is significantly faster and more memory-efficient than the original hashids gem:

Up to 4x faster with YJIT enabled
Up to 98% reduction in memory allocation
Optimized for both speed and memory usage

Getting Started

Explore the documentation to learn more about each gem:

EncodedId and EncodedId::Rails