Generate random alphanumeric string in Swift

How can I generate a random alphanumeric string in Swift?

Solution 1:

Swift 4.2 Update

Swift 4.2 introduced major improvements in dealing with random values and elements. You can read more about those improvements here. Here is the method reduced to a few lines:

func randomString(length: Int) -> String {
  let letters = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789"
  return String((0..<length).map{ _ in letters.randomElement()! })
}

Swift 3.0 Update

func randomString(length: Int) -> String {

    let letters : NSString = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789"
    let len = UInt32(letters.length)

    var randomString = ""

    for _ in 0 ..< length {
        let rand = arc4random_uniform(len)
        var nextChar = letters.character(at: Int(rand))
        randomString += NSString(characters: &nextChar, length: 1) as String
    }

    return randomString
}

Original answer:

func randomStringWithLength (len : Int) -> NSString {

    let letters : NSString = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789"

    var randomString : NSMutableString = NSMutableString(capacity: len)

    for (var i=0; i < len; i++){
        var length = UInt32 (letters.length)
        var rand = arc4random_uniform(length)
        randomString.appendFormat("%C", letters.characterAtIndex(Int(rand)))
    }

    return randomString
}

Solution 2:

Here's a ready-to-use solution in Swiftier syntax. You can simply copy and paste it:

func randomAlphaNumericString(length: Int) -> String {
    let allowedChars = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789"
    let allowedCharsCount = UInt32(allowedChars.characters.count)
    var randomString = ""

    for _ in 0 ..< length {
        let randomNum = Int(arc4random_uniform(allowedCharsCount))
        let randomIndex = allowedChars.index(allowedChars.startIndex, offsetBy: randomNum)
        let newCharacter = allowedChars[randomIndex]
        randomString += String(newCharacter)
    }

    return randomString
}

If you prefer a Framework that also has some more handy features then feel free to checkout my project HandySwift. It also includes a beautiful solution for random alphanumeric strings:

String(randomWithLength: 8, allowedCharactersType: .alphaNumeric) // => "2TgM5sUG"

Solution 3:

You may use it also in the following way:

extension String {

    static func random(length: Int = 20) -> String {

        let base = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789"
        var randomString: String = ""

        for _ in 0..<length {

            let randomValue = arc4random_uniform(UInt32(base.characters.count))
            randomString += "\(base[base.startIndex.advancedBy(Int(randomValue))])"
        }

        return randomString
    }
}

Simple usage:

let randomString = String.random()

Swift 3 Syntax:

extension String {

    static func random(length: Int = 20) -> String {
        let base = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789"
        var randomString: String = ""

        for _ in 0..<length {
            let randomValue = arc4random_uniform(UInt32(base.characters.count))
            randomString += "\(base[base.index(base.startIndex, offsetBy: Int(randomValue))])"
        }
        return randomString
    }
}

Swift 4 Syntax:

extension String {

    static func random(length: Int = 20) -> String {
        let base = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789"
        var randomString: String = ""

        for _ in 0..<length {
            let randomValue = arc4random_uniform(UInt32(base.count))
            randomString += "\(base[base.index(base.startIndex, offsetBy: Int(randomValue))])"
        }
        return randomString
    }
}

Solution 4:

Swift:

let randomString = NSUUID().uuidString