Generate Random Emojis Offline with Unicode-Gen Library

Unicode-Gen is a lightweight TypeScript library that generates random Unicode emojis from an embedded dataset of over 3700+ emojis across 98 categories.

Features:

• TypeScript Support: Built with TypeScript, providing full type definitions and compile-time safety.
• Offline Functionality: No network requests required as all emoji data is embedded in the library bundle.
• Category Filtering: Generate emojis from specific categories like animals, food, activities, or symbols.
• Multiple Output Formats: Return emoji characters, Unicode codes, or complete emoji objects with metadata.
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Functions in both browser and Node.js environments.
• Performance Optimized: Lightweight implementation with efficient random selection algorithms.

How to use it:

1. Install Unicode-Gen.

# Yarn
$ yarn add unicode-gen
# NPM
$ npm install unicode-gen

2. Import and initialize the library in your TypeScript or JavaScript files:

import generator from 'unicode-gen';
// The generator loads data automatically on import
// Wait for data loading to complete before use
await generator.loadData();

3. Generate a single random emoji from the entire dataset:

const randomEmoji = generator.random();
console.log(randomEmoji); // Output: 🎯 (or any other emoji)

4. If you need more than one, you can call it multiple times. Here’s how you might generate an array of three random emojis.

const fiveEmojis = Array.from({ length: 3 }, () => generateEmoji());
console.log(fiveEmojis); // Outputs an array like ['🎉', '💻', '🤔']

5. Filter emojis by specific categories when you need thematically consistent results:

const animalEmoji = generator.random({ 
  count: 3, 
  category: 'animals-nature' 
});
console.log(animalEmoji); // Output: ['🐘', '🦋', '🌳']

6. Control the output format based on your application requirements:

// Return just the emoji character (default)
const emojiOnly = generator.random({ type: 'emoji' });
// Output: '🎪'
// Return the Unicode code point
const unicodeCode = generator.random({ type: 'code' });
// Output: 'U+1F3AA'
// Return complete emoji data object
const emojiData = generator.random({ type: 'both' });
// Output: { emoji: '🎪', code: 'U+1F3AA', category: 'activities' }

7. Available API Methods:

• random(options?): Primary method for generating random emojis with configurable options including count, category, and output type.
• loadData(): Initializes the emoji dataset from embedded data, called automatically on import but can be invoked manually for error handling.
• getCategories(): Returns an array of all available category names for filtering purposes.
• getEmojisByCategory(category): Retrieves all emojis from a specific category as an array of emoji data objects.

8. Error Handling Best Practices. Implement proper error handling for production applications:

try {
  await generator.loadData();
  const emoji = generator.random({ count: 1, category: 'food-drink' });
  console.log('Generated emoji:', emoji);
} catch (error) {
  console.error('Emoji generation failed:', error.message);
  // Fallback to default emoji or alternative behavior
}