cryptography
Hash Generator
Generate MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, or SHA-512 hashes from any text input.
Hash Generator
Generate MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, or SHA-512 hashes from any text input.
What is this?
A cryptographic hash function takes an input of any length and produces a fixed-size output — the hash or digest — that uniquely represents the input. The same input always produces the same hash; changing even a single character produces a completely different hash. Hash functions are one-way: you cannot reverse a hash to recover the original input. MD5 and SHA-1 are older algorithms still used for non-security checksums. SHA-256 and SHA-512 are current standards for security-sensitive use cases such as digital signatures, API authentication, and password storage (always combined with a proper key-derivation function like bcrypt or Argon2 for passwords).
How to use
- Paste your text: Type or paste any UTF-8 string into the input field — an API secret, a file path, a password candidate, or any value you want to fingerprint.
- Choose an algorithm and encoding: Select SHA-256 for general security use, MD5 or SHA-1 for legacy checksum compatibility, or SHA-512 for the longest digest. Choose hex for a lowercase hexadecimal string or base64 for a more compact representation.
- Copy the hash: The digest appears instantly. Click Copy to put it on your clipboard. The tool also shows input byte length and digest character length to help you confirm you are using the correct variant.
FAQ
- Is my input sent to a server?
- No. Hashing runs entirely in your browser using the Web Crypto API. Your text never leaves your device. The REST API endpoint processes input server-side in an isolated, stateless function with no logging.
- Which algorithm should I use?
- Use SHA-256 for new projects — it is the current standard. Use MD5 or SHA-1 only when a legacy system requires it (they are broken for collision resistance but acceptable for non-security checksums). Use SHA-512 when you need a longer digest or when your framework requires it.
- Can I hash a file instead of text?
- This tool hashes UTF-8 text. To hash a file in Node.js: createHash('sha256').update(fs.readFileSync('file')).digest('hex'). On macOS or Linux: sha256sum filename. On Windows: Get-FileHash filename -Algorithm SHA256.
What is Hash Generator?
A cryptographic hash function takes an input of any length and produces a fixed-size output — the hash or digest — that uniquely represents the input. The same input always produces the same hash; changing even a single character produces a completely different hash. Hash functions are one-way: you cannot reverse a hash to recover the original input. MD5 and SHA-1 are older algorithms still used for non-security checksums. SHA-256 and SHA-512 are current standards for security-sensitive use cases such as digital signatures, API authentication, and password storage (always combined with a proper key-derivation function like bcrypt or Argon2 for passwords).
How to use Hash Generator
- Paste your text: Type or paste any UTF-8 string into the input field — an API secret, a file path, a password candidate, or any value you want to fingerprint.
- Choose an algorithm and encoding: Select SHA-256 for general security use, MD5 or SHA-1 for legacy checksum compatibility, or SHA-512 for the longest digest. Choose hex for a lowercase hexadecimal string or base64 for a more compact representation.
- Copy the hash: The digest appears instantly. Click Copy to put it on your clipboard. The tool also shows input byte length and digest character length to help you confirm you are using the correct variant.
Frequently asked questions
- Is my input sent to a server?
- No. Hashing runs entirely in your browser using the Web Crypto API. Your text never leaves your device. The REST API endpoint processes input server-side in an isolated, stateless function with no logging.
- Which algorithm should I use?
- Use SHA-256 for new projects — it is the current standard. Use MD5 or SHA-1 only when a legacy system requires it (they are broken for collision resistance but acceptable for non-security checksums). Use SHA-512 when you need a longer digest or when your framework requires it.
- Can I hash a file instead of text?
- This tool hashes UTF-8 text. To hash a file in Node.js: createHash('sha256').update(fs.readFileSync('file')).digest('hex'). On macOS or Linux: sha256sum filename. On Windows: Get-FileHash filename -Algorithm SHA256.