# Generate unique IDs for new objects

When writing an [Ontology edit function](../edits-overview/index.md) that creates objects, you may want to generate a unique ID for the newly created object.

## TypeScript v2

TypeScript v2 has no built-in or platform-specific UUID generator. Use a standard UUID library such as the [`uuid` package ↗](https://www.npmjs.com/package/uuid) from npm.

### Install the package

Add the `uuid` package to your repository's dependencies:

```bash
npm install uuid
npm install --save-dev @types/uuid
```

### Use the package in code

```typescript
import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';

export default function createFlightScenario(): void {
    const uniqueId = uuidv4();
    // Use uniqueId as the primary key for your new object
}
```

## TypeScript v1

:::callout{theme="success"}
The following documentation is specific to TypeScript v1 functions. For more [robust capabilities](../language-feature-support/index.md#typescript-v1-vs-typescript-v2), including support for Ontology SDK and configurable resource requests, we recommend [migrating to TypeScript v2](../typescript-v2-migration/index.md).
:::

In TypeScript v1 functions, use the `@foundry/functions-utils` package to generate a globally unique identifier.

### Import the package

The `@foundry/functions-utils` package is installed by default, but if the package is not present in the `package.json` file:

* In the `"dependencies"` section, add `"@foundry/functions-utils": "0.1.0"`

As mentioned in the [documentation on adding dependencies](../add-dependencies/index.md), remember to restart Code Assist to have the new package available for autocomplete.

### Use the package in code

To generate a unique ID, you can use the `Uuid.random()` utility function from the `@foundry/functions-utils` package. The below code example shows how you could use the `random` function in an example Ontology edit function.

```typescript
import { OntologyEditFunction, Timestamp } from "@foundry/functions-api";
import { Objects } from "@foundry/ontology-api";
import { Uuid } from "@foundry/functions-utils";

export class ExampleEditFunctions {
    @Edits(FlightScenario)
    @OntologyEditFunction()
    public createFlightScenario(): void {
        const scenario = Objects.create().flightScenarios(Uuid.random());
        scenario.scenarioName = "New scenario";
        scenario.creationTime = Timestamp.now();
    }
}
```