---
name: "uuidparse"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "util-linux"
version: "2.42.4-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/uuidparse"
---

# uuidparse(1)

a utility to parse unique identifiers

## NAME

uuidparse - a utility to parse unique identifiers

## SYNOPSIS

**uuidparse** \[options\] *uuid*

## DESCRIPTION

This command will parse unique identifier inputs from either command line arguments or standard input. The inputs are white-space separated.

## OUTPUT

### Variants

| | |
| --- | --- |
| NCS | Network Computing System identifier. These were the original UUIDs. |
| DCE | The Open Software Foundation’s (OSF) Distributed Computing Environment UUIDs. |
| Microsoft | Microsoft Windows platform globally unique identifier (GUID). |
| other | Unknown variant. Usually invalid input data. |

### Types

| | |
| --- | --- |
| nil | Special type for zero in type file. |
| time-based | The DCE time based. |
| DCE | The DCE time and MAC Address. |
| name-based | RFC 4122 md5sum hash. |
| random | RFC 4122 random. |
| sha1-based | RFC 4122 sha-1 hash. |
| unknown | Unknown type. Usually invalid input data. |

## OPTIONS

- **-J**, **--json**

  Use JSON output format.

- **-n**, **--noheadings**

  Do not print a header line.

- **-o**, **--output**

  Specify which output columns to print. Use **--help** to get a list of all supported columns.

- **-r**, **--raw**

  Use the raw output format.

- **-h**, **--help**

  Display help text and exit.

- **-V**, **--version**

  Display version and exit.

## ENVIRONMENT

**LIBSMARTCOLS\_DEBUG**=all

enables libsmartcols debug output.

**LIBSMARTCOLS\_DEBUG\_PADDING**=on

use visible padding characters.

**LIBSMARTCOLS\_JSON**=compact\|lines

Controls JSON output format when using **--json**. Supported values are **compact** for JSON output with minimal whitespace, and **lines** for JSON Lines format (one JSON object per line). If unset or set to any other value, pretty-printed JSON is used.

## AUTHORS

*Sami Kerola* \<kerolasa@iki.fi\>

## SEE ALSO

[**uuidgen**(1)](/uuidgen/1.md), [**libuuid**(3)](/libuuid/3.md), *RFC 4122* \<https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4122\>

## REPORTING BUGS

For bug reports, use the *issue tracker* \<https://github.com/util-linux/util-linux/issues\>.

## AVAILABILITY

The **uuidparse** command is part of the util-linux package which can be downloaded from *Linux Kernel Archive* \<https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/\>.