Generate SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 & SHA-512 hashes.
————Hashes are computed locally with the Web Crypto API. Your text is never uploaded. (Note: MD5 is intentionally omitted — it is cryptographically broken.)
The Hash Generator produces cryptographic hash values — MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-512, and more — from any text string instantly in your browser. Use it to verify file integrity, check password hash formats, generate content fingerprints, or learn how different hashing algorithms compare for your security requirements.
All three are hash functions but differ in security and output length. MD5 produces a 128-bit hash and is considered cryptographically broken — it should not be used for security purposes but is still useful for checksums. SHA-1 produces 160 bits and is also deprecated for security use. SHA-256 (part of SHA-2) produces 256 bits and remains secure for most applications including TLS certificates and digital signatures.
No. Hashing is a one-way function — it is computationally infeasible to reverse a hash to its input. However, common inputs like simple passwords can be looked up in precomputed rainbow tables. This is why passwords should always be hashed with a dedicated password hashing function like bcrypt, Argon2, or scrypt, which add salting and deliberate slowness.
The software publisher provides the expected SHA-256 hash of the file. After downloading, generate the SHA-256 hash of the downloaded file and compare it to the published value. If they match exactly, the file has not been tampered with or corrupted in transit.
This is called the avalanche effect and is a deliberate design property of cryptographic hash functions. Even a single character change causes the output hash to change unpredictably across all its bits. This property ensures hashes cannot be used to infer anything about the original input.