Idea for v4: a checked public-reference field in an application

[PerchAnton]

I maintain RefMint, a TypeScript library for public references with a type prefix and a Bech32m checksum.

Use case

A Payload application can store customer requests or orders as collections. A public reference field could give the frontend a consistent value to display and validate without exposing the collection ID.

Proposal

Evaluate a v4 application-level hook/field example using RefMint, with uniqueness and access checks in the application. This is not a v3 core-feature request or a proposal to replace Payload's IDs.

Trade-offs and current status

The first alpha is available as a GitHub package archive, not on npm. It targets Node 22+ and Web Crypto browsers, with no runtime dependencies. The format may change and adds six checksum characters. A checksum is not authorization. Keeping the current reference format is a valid alternative.

I checked the released package (generation, formatting, parsing and typo rejection); I have not tested an integration here or measured a benefit for your users. Would this optional workflow be useful, or is the current approach sufficient?