Alternatives

Products that do what XID – Dependency-Free Unique ID Generator in One C File does

XID generates 20-character globally unique IDs (48-bit timestamp + 64-bit entropy + 8-bit counter + 5-bit checksum) in a single C file with zero dependencies. Features built-in timestamp extraction, collision resistance, and portable design for any platform - ideal for databases, IoT, and distributed systems. char id = xid_generate(); // => "01H5Z7K4W9A3B6C8D0F2G" Gists: https://gist.github.com/Ferki-git-creator/17450d52d143f746f0... (Feedback wanted: entropy improvements, embedded use cases, optimizations)*

1. 1SD
   Sonyflake – distributed unique ID generator implemented in Rust▲66

   2020 · github.com

2. 2ST
   Sed to C translator written in sed▲160

   2020 · github.com

3. 3GA
   Greg – a simple “cal” clone written in C▲60

   2020 · greg-calendar.vercel.app

4. 4XA
   XitDB – an immutable single-file database▲8

   I couldn't find a database that was immutable (like Datomic) and embedded (like SQLite), so I made one. The reference impl is in Zig and there are now ports for Java, Clojure, TypeScript, and Go.

   Apr 2026 · github.com

5. 5AS
   A simple way to write standalone C programs for i386▲147

   2019 · github.com

6. 6FA
   fcp – A significantly faster alternative to cp(1), written in Rust▲88

   2021 · github.com

7. 7CA
   C3 – A C alternative that looks like C▲120

   2021 · github.com

8. 8AK
   Arxid – keyed, non-enumerable ID obfuscation▲8

   I kept reaching for Hashids/Sqids to keep sequential IDs out of URLs, but they don't use a real key — the alphabet is shuffled by a salt, and the Sqids FAQ says outright "there is no encryption of any kind." arxid is a keyed reversible permutation instead: a balanced Feistel network with an ARX (add-rotate-xor) round function over a 40-bit domain, mapping to a 7-char base62 code. Feed it an integer, get an unpredictable code back; same key reverses it. Runs ~16x faster than a structurally identical Feistel using HMAC-SHA256, because the round function is integer ops instead of a hash…

   Aug 2026 · github.com

9. 9AC
   A CLI tool to generate Cistercian numerals▲51

   2021 · github.com

10. 10SH
    Simple Hash Table Implementation for C▲42

    2015 · github.com

11. 11FI
    Fast integer compression library in C▲45

    2015 · github.com

12. 12AL
    A Lock- and wait-free hashtable (and an array too), written in C▲24

    2016 · github.com

13. 13AD
    A Database Written in C▲9

    Hey hackernews! I'd like to share a hobby and passion project I've been working on for almost a year now. It's an open-source storage engine (underlying component of a database(s)) similar to that of LevelDB/RocksDB but written entirely in C. The storage engine is called TidesDB. TidesDB is written entirely in C. It's designed as a fast, transactional key-value storage engine built on a log-structured merge-tree (LSM-tree) architecture. My journey with TidesDB began nearly 2 years ago whilst I was experimenting with various data structures and databases in Go. When I encountered the…

    2025 · github.com

14. 14UN
    Uuid.now F# based simple UUID generator▲5

    Need a fast, easy-to-use, and memorable UUID/Guid generator? Built with the power and elegance of F#! https://uuid.now is here! One-click copy Zero UUID support Browser-based (Crypto API) Fully open source Explore the source code here: https://github.com/OnurGumus/uuid.now

    2024 · uuid.now

15. 15LR
    Linear RNN/Reservoir hybrid generative model, one C file (no deps.)▲7

    I just noticed it takes literally ~5 minutes to train millions parameters on slow CPU...but before you call Yudkowsky that "it's over", an important note: the main bottleneck is the corpus size, params are just 'cleverness' but given limited info it's powerless. Anyway, here is the project: https://github.com/bggb7781-collab/lrnnsmdds/tree/main couple of notes: 1. single C file, no dependencies. Below are literally all the "dependencies", not even custom header (copy paste from the top of the single c file): #define _POSIX_C_SOURCE 200809L #include #include…

    Apr 2026 · raw.githubusercontent.com

16. 16EI
    Efficient integer ID obfuscation▲6

    2016 · github.com

17. 17AA
    ajl, a simple compile to C++ language▲12

    2017 · github.com

18. 18CC
    Ciid – Chronological Image Identifier, Written in Rust▲5

    2020 · github.com

19. 19SM
    Stricks – managed C strings library▲15

    2021 · github.com

20. 20NA
    Nymph, a C like programming language▲9

    2019 · github.com

21. 21FI
    fcode is a binary rust-serde format that supports schema evolution▲14

    2021 · crates.io

22. 22C2
    Cbuild 2.0 – makefile / header generator for modular C▲5

    2018 · github.com

23. 23AG
    A generator for random ASCIItabs▲11

    2018 · asciitabs.com

24. 24OA
    Openemacs – a tiny emacs clone, ≤ 1024 LOC (C), based on kilo (BSD)▲8

    2016 · github.com

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