BuildId, a SaaS for numbers
This is something I wanted to have for a long time: a very simple service. I had draft code for it years ago, but never enough time to finish it. Recently, I finally got it done, and the initial version of buildid.dev is now online.
What is BuildId.dev?
BuildId is an API that returns lexicographically sortable IDs made of six alphanumeric characters. You can use it for build numbers, release tags, and document workflows. Sequence state is kept per running instance and can be restored via the API. It returns the date and time when an ID was generated.
Additionally, I added functions to make numbers lexicographically sortable by adding a letter in front of them. That is useful when you want files like 1.txt, 2.txt, and 10.txt to stay sorted.
There is also a similar API that shortens long numbers into alphanumeric strings that still sort nicely.
That’s it. That is all buildid.dev does.
API examples are on the buildid.dev page, so I will not repeat them here.
Summary
buildid.dev is one of those things I occasionally need, and now it is always available. So I built it primarily for myself, but it is fine if you use it too.
Making it was also nice reminder that sometimes, small things just need a bit of time to become real. And it always takes a bit more time to go from "runs on my computer" to running publicly.
Disclaimer
This post was written by a human. AI has only been used for language polishing.