Choose the right ID type for records

Prompt that compares ID types for a table or API and recommends one with reasons. Paste it into an AI tool of your choice, which then chooses the ID type.

Topic: Apps & prototypes
Type: Prompt
Level: Intermediate
Time: about 15 min

Results depend on the tool, the model and what you enter.

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Example: written by our editors, not real AI output.

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RecordsWhat are the records?

RequirementsWhat matters most?

SetupHow is the system built?

Your prompt

Help me choose the ID type for a new table or API.
Records: [Records]
Requirements: [Requirements]
Setup: [Setup]
Approach: 1. Describe what the ID is used for: joins inside the database, public addresses, references in other systems or offline creation. 2. Compare auto-increment numbers, random IDs and time-sortable IDs on index size, insert speed, sort order, guessability and merging data from several sources. 3. Check whether the ID will appear in addresses or exports and whether counting through numbers would reveal business figures. 4. Recommend one type and say whether an internal number plus a separate public ID makes sense. 5. Write down format, length, column type and how the ID is generated. 6. List what has to change if an existing table switches later.
Output: comparison table, recommendation with reasons, column definition and a short migration note.

Take particular care to decide by how the ID is used and shared, not by habit.

Before you answer, check: Are all instructions met? If key information is missing or a placeholder in square brackets is still in the text, ask instead of guessing. Mark assumptions as assumptions.

Help me choose the ID type for a new table or API.
Records: [Records]
Requirements: [Requirements]
Setup: [Setup]
Approach: 1. Describe what the ID is used for: joins inside the database, public addresses, references in other systems or offline creation. 2. Compare auto-increment numbers, random IDs and time-sortable IDs on index size, insert speed, sort order, guessability and merging data from several sources. 3. Check whether the ID will appear in addresses or exports and whether counting through numbers would reveal business figures. 4. Recommend one type and say whether an internal number plus a separate public ID makes sense. 5. Write down format, length, column type and how the ID is generated. 6. List what has to change if an existing table switches later.
Output: comparison table, recommendation with reasons, column definition and a short migration note.

Take particular care to decide by how the ID is used and shared, not by habit.

Before you answer, check: Are all instructions met? If key information is missing or a placeholder in square brackets is still in the text, ask instead of guessing. Mark assumptions as assumptions.

This is an instruction for an AI, not the result itself.

Where this prompt works

These AI tools are a good fit for this prompt:

How to use it

Fill in the fields or tap a suggestion. Leave out names, addresses and other personal data.
Copy the finished prompt into an AI tool of your choice.
Describe how records are created, read and shared; a table definition helps more than sample data.

Why does this work?

The ID type is hard to change once other systems store it. Ten minutes of thought now saves a painful migration later.

Tips

A random ID is not access control; always check permissions on every request.

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Choose the right ID type for records

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