diff --git a/id/time.go b/id/time.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..75687c7c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/id/time.go
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+package id
+
+import (
+	"strconv"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/influxdata/chronograf"
+)
+
+// tm generates an id based on current time
+type tm struct {
+	Now func() time.Time
+}
+
+// NewTime builds a chronograf.ID generator based on current time
+func NewTime() chronograf.ID {
+	return &tm{
+		Now: time.Now,
+	}
+}
+
+// Generate creates a string based on the current time as an integer
+func (i *tm) Generate() (string, error) {
+	return strconv.Itoa(int(i.Now().Unix())), nil
+}