Ecto.ULID Next

Ecto.ULID Next is an Ecto.Type implementation for ULID.

Originally forked from TheRealReal/ecto-ulid, this library is actively maintained to ensure compatibility with both current and upcoming Ecto releases.

Features

• Generate ULIDs in either Base32 or binary format.
• Generate ULIDs based on a specific timestamp.
• Autogenerate ULIDs when used as a primary key in your schema.
• Read and write ULIDs using the database's native uuid type—no need for additional database extensions.
• Supports Ecto 3.2 and above.
• Supports the officially supported Elixir versions (currently ~> 1.11).
• Tested and confirmed to work on both PostgreSQL and MySQL.
• Optimized for high throughput scenarios.

Why Choose ULID?

ULID (Universally Unique Lexicographically Sortable Identifier) offers lexicographic sorting, unlike UUID. This feature simplifies chronological sorting and range queries, making ULID advantageous for time-series data, event sourcing, and other specific use-cases.

Note: UUID v7 is a new proposed format that also aims to offer lexicographic sorting.

Compatibility Considerations

ULID is binary-compatible with UUID, which means Ecto.ULID can be used interchangeably in environments where Ecto.UUID is supported. It has been confirmed to work with PostgreSQL and MySQL with the uuid column type.

Performance

Ecto.ULID is optimized for quick operations, particularly useful in scenarios requiring the handling of a large volume of events. The library borrows techniques from Ecto.UUID to achieve sub-microsecond times for most operations.

A benchmark suite is included to test the performance. Clone the repository and run mix run bench/ulid_bench.exs to gauge how the library performs on your own system.

Installation

To install ecto_ulid_next, add it to your project's dependencies in mix.exs:

defp deps do
  [
    {:ecto_ulid_next, "~> 1.0.2"}
  ]
end

Usage Scenarios

The following sections outline three practical examples of how to use Ecto.ULID. For API details, refer to the documentation.

Using Ecto.ULID as a Primary Key or Foreign Key for a Single Table

Migration

In your migration file, specify :binary_id as the column type for the primary key and any foreign keys.

create table(:events, primary_key: false) do
  add :id, :binary_id, primary_key: true
  add :user_id, references(:users, type: :binary_id)
  # additional fields
end

Schema Definition

In your schema, set both @primary_key and @foreign_key_type to Ecto.ULID. This will default both the primary key and all foreign keys in the schema to use the ULID type.

defmodule MyApp.Event do
  use Ecto.Schema

  @primary_key {:id, Ecto.ULID, autogenerate: true}
  @foreign_key_type Ecto.ULID

  schema "events" do
    belongs_to :user, MyApp.User
    # additional fields
  end
end

To specify the ULID type for an individual association within the current schema, you can set the type option in the belongs_to function:

defmodule MyApp.Event do
  use Ecto.Schema

  @primary_key {:id, Ecto.ULID, autogenerate: true}

  schema "events" do
    belongs_to :user, MyApp.User, type: Ecto.ULID
    # additional fields
  end
end

Using Ecto.ULID as Primary Keys Across Multiple Tables

Global Migration Configuration

First, set a global configuration for all migrations to use :binary_id as the primary key type in config/config.exs.

config :my_app, MyApp.Repo,
  migration_primary_key: [name: :id, type: :binary_id],
  migration_foreign_key: [type: :binary_id]

With this configuration, there's no need to explicitly define the primary key column and the foreign key column type.

create table(:events) do
  belongs_to :user, MyApp.User
  # additional fields
end

Shared Schema Configuration

Create a shared module to house general schema configurations. This module will set Ecto.ULID as the default for both primary and foreign keys.

defmodule MyApp.Schema do
  @moduledoc false

  defmacro __using__(_) do
    quote do
      use Ecto.Schema

      @primary_key {:id, Ecto.ULID, autogenerate: true}
      @foreign_key_type Ecto.ULID
    end
  end
end

When defining individual schemas, simply use MyApp.Schema instead of Ecto.Schema. This eliminates the need to specify these attributes in each schema.

defmodule MyApp.Event do
  use MyApp.Schema

  schema "events" do
    # additional fields
  end
end

Manual ULID Generation

Using the Current System Time

Use Ecto.ULID.generate/0 or Ecto.ULID.bingenerate/0 to create ULIDs in string or binary format based on the current system time. This is useful for sending ULIDs to external systems or for use with c:Ecto.Repo.insert_all/3, where autogenerated fields are not set automatically.

iex> Ecto.ULID.generate()
"01BZ13RV29T5S8HV45EDNC748P"

iex> Ecto.ULID.bingenerate()
<<1, 95, 194, 60, 108, 73, 209, 114, 136, 236, 133, 115, 106, 195, 145, 22>>

Specifying a Timestamp

To generate a ULID based on a specific timestamp—useful for backfilling historical data—you can use Ecto.ULID.generate/1 or Ecto.ULID.bingenerate/1.

iex> Ecto.ULID.generate(1402899630000)
"018THNB1XGQZ7T929PD126SM3Z"

iex> Ecto.ULID.bingenerate(1402899630000)
<<1, 70, 163, 85, 135, 176, 12, 219, 112, 32, 157, 209, 98, 152, 55, 37>>

Further Reading

Specifications

• ULID specification
• UUID v7 specification

Database Support and Tools

ULIDs are not natively supported by most databases, which means querying data directly may display IDs in UUID format rather than the Crockford Base32 representation. For PostgreSQL, the following tool can help convert between ULID and UUID formats:

• pgsql-ulid

Articles and Insights

• Understanding UUIDs, ULIDs and String Representations