IDv1 documentation

IDv1 is a scheme for short codes. Every code is six characters, and its shape tells an account from a list or an item. One address, example.com/<code>, can then open any of them, and never two at once.

What	Shape	Example	How many
Account	two letters, four digits	Jo4712	27 million
Product	four letters, two digits	AbCd12	731 million
List	two digits, four letters	12ABCD	46 million
Item	two letters, two digits, two letters or digits that are not both digits	Ab12Cd	1 billion

Capitals matter: Ab12Cd and ab12cd are two codes. An account’s letters come from the person’s name, and codes that spell a rude or awkward word are drawn again.

The scannable code

Any code can also be drawn as a strip of 16 × 4 cells and read back from a camera frame, also when it is written on paper beside other marks. A damaged cell fails the check rather than reading wrong.

IDv1 has nothing to do with signing in. It names things; each app decides who may open them.

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