How to create a GUID/UUID in Python

Question

How do I create a GUID in Python that is platform independent? I hear there is a method using ActivePython on Windows but it\'s Windows only because it uses COM. Is there a

Answer 1

2019 Answer (for Windows):

If you want a permanent UUID that identifies a machine uniquely on Windows, you can use this trick: (Copied from my answer at https://stackoverflow.com/a/58416992/8874388).

from typing import Optional
import re
import subprocess
import uuid

def get_windows_uuid() -> Optional[uuid.UUID]:
    try:
        # Ask Windows for the device's permanent UUID. Throws if command missing/fails.
        txt = subprocess.check_output("wmic csproduct get uuid").decode()

        # Attempt to extract the UUID from the command's result.
        match = re.search(r"\bUUID\b[\s\r\n]+([^\s\r\n]+)", txt)
        if match is not None:
            txt = match.group(1)
            if txt is not None:
                # Remove the surrounding whitespace (newlines, space, etc)
                # and useless dashes etc, by only keeping hex (0-9 A-F) chars.
                txt = re.sub(r"[^0-9A-Fa-f]+", "", txt)

                # Ensure we have exactly 32 characters (16 bytes).
                if len(txt) == 32:
                    return uuid.UUID(txt)
    except:
        pass # Silence subprocess exception.

    return None

print(get_windows_uuid())

Uses Windows API to get the computer's permanent UUID, then processes the string to ensure it's a valid UUID, and lastly returns a Python object (https://docs.python.org/3/library/uuid.html) which gives you convenient ways to use the data (such as 128-bit integer, hex string, etc).

Good luck!

PS: The subprocess call could probably be replaced with ctypes directly calling Windows kernel/DLLs. But for my purposes this function is all I need. It does strong validation and produces correct results.