randombytes

What is randombytes?

The randombytes package allows developers to generate cryptographically strong random bytes using Node.js's crypto module. It is useful for creating unique identifiers, tokens, or any other items that require a random component. The package provides a simple API that can be used synchronously or asynchronously.

What are randombytes's main functionalities?

Synchronous random byte generation

This feature allows for the synchronous generation of a specified number of random bytes. It is useful when you need to generate random data on the fly without dealing with callbacks or promises.

const randomBytes = require('randombytes');
const bytes = randomBytes(16); // generates 16 random bytes

Asynchronous random byte generation

This feature enables the asynchronous generation of random bytes. It is particularly useful in scenarios where non-blocking operations are preferred or required.

const randomBytes = require('randombytes');
randomBytes(16, (err, bytes) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(bytes);
});

Other packages similar to randombytes

crypto-random-string

This package generates random strings of a specified length. Unlike randombytes, which provides raw byte data, crypto-random-string is tailored for generating random strings, making it more suitable for certain applications like generating random tokens or passwords.

uuid

The uuid package is used to generate unique identifiers according to the UUID standard. While randombytes can be used to generate random data that could serve as a UUID, the uuid package directly provides various versions of UUIDs (v1, v4, etc.), making it more convenient for applications requiring standardized unique identifiers.

nanoid

Nanoid is a tiny, secure URL-friendly unique string ID generator. It offers a similar functionality to randombytes in terms of generating unique values but focuses on generating short, URL-friendly IDs. Compared to randombytes, Nanoid provides more control over the length and characters of the generated IDs, making it a better choice for certain web development scenarios.

README

randombytes

randombytes from node that works in the browser. In node you just get crypto.randomBytes, but in the browser it uses .crypto/msCrypto.getRandomValues

var randomBytes = require('randombytes');
randomBytes(16);//get 16 random bytes
randomBytes(16, function (err, resp) {
  // resp is 16 random bytes
});