Hash Generator

What this hash generator does

A cryptographic hash function turns any input, whether a word, a password or a 4 GB disk image, into a short, fixed-length fingerprint called a digest. Change a single bit of the input and the digest changes completely, which is why hashes are used to check downloads, detect tampering, index data and build digital signatures. This tool computes 20 different hash algorithms side by side, so you can match whatever format a website, database or command-line tool gives you.

Everything happens on your device. Text is hashed as you type, and files are read in 4 MB chunks with the browser’s File API, so even very large files never leave your computer and never have to fit in memory at once. SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 text hashes use the browser’s built-in Web Crypto API; every other algorithm, and all file hashing, uses streaming JavaScript implementations that were checked against published test vectors and reference implementations.

How to use it

1. Choose Text or File. For text you can also paste raw bytes as hex or Base64.
2. Tick the algorithms you want, or use the Common, SHA-2, SHA-3 and All shortcuts. All selected digests appear together.
3. Optionally enter an HMAC key to compute a keyed HMAC instead of a plain hash, choose hex or Base64 output, or set a custom SHAKE output length.
4. To verify a download, paste the checksum published by the vendor into Compare / verify a checksum. The tool tells you which result matches, if any.
5. Use Copy link to share a preset. Links like /hash-generator?algo=sha256 or ?algo=md5,sha1 open with those algorithms selected.

Hash algorithm comparison

Not all hash functions are equal. “Broken” below means researchers can create collisions (two different inputs with the same digest) faster than brute force; it does not mean the hash can be reversed.

Which hash should I use?

• To match a published checksum: use exactly the algorithm the publisher lists. Most Linux distributions and software vendors publish SHA-256; older sites still list MD5 or SHA-1.
• For new file-integrity checks: SHA-256 is the safe default. SHA-512 is often faster on 64-bit machines, and SHA3-256 is a good choice if you want a different design from SHA-2.
• For deduplication or cache keys where nobody is attacking you: MD5 is still fast and fine, but SHA-256 costs little more and avoids awkward questions later.
• To authenticate a message with a shared secret: use HMAC-SHA-256, not SHA-256(secret + message). Plain SHA-1 and SHA-2 are vulnerable to length-extension attacks when used that way; HMAC, SHA-3 and SHA-512/256 are not.
• When you need a specific output length: use SHAKE128 or SHAKE256 and set the length. SHAKE128 gives 128-bit security as long as the output is at least 256 bits.
• For passwords: none of the above. See the warning below.

Do not store passwords with plain hashes

MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, NTLM and every other fast hash are the wrong tool for storing passwords. Graphics cards can test billions of guesses per second against a fast hash, and without a unique salt, identical passwords produce identical hashes that can be looked up in precomputed tables. Password storage needs a deliberately slow, salted algorithm such as Argon2id, bcrypt, scrypt or PBKDF2 with a high iteration count. You can create and check bcrypt hashes with the bcrypt generator. The NTLM and WordPress options here exist to test and migrate existing systems, not to design new ones.

How to verify a file checksum

Download the file, then compute its hash either here (choose File) or with a built-in command, and compare it with the value on the vendor’s site. If even one character differs, the file is corrupted or not the one the publisher released.

Paste the whole output line into the compare box if you like; the tool pulls out the hash and ignores the file name. Hex is not case-sensitive, so uppercase output from Windows matches lowercase output from Linux.

Why does my text hash differ from another tool?

A hash is computed over bytes, not letters, so the exact bytes matter. The most common causes of a mismatch are a trailing newline (echo "abc" | sha256sum hashes abc\n; use printf or echo -n), Windows line endings (CRLF instead of LF), invisible spaces, and character encoding. This tool hashes text as UTF-8, the standard on the web, except NTLM, which by definition hashes the UTF-16LE form of the password. If you have raw bytes rather than text, switch the input to hex or Base64.

HMAC, SHAKE and the special algorithms

HMAC (RFC 2104) mixes a secret key into the hash so that only someone with the key can produce or check the value; it is how APIs sign webhooks and requests. It is available here for MD4, MD5, Whirlpool and every SHA-1, SHA-2 and SHA-3 hash. It is not offered for obsolete MD2, is not used with SHAKE (the keyed equivalent is KMAC) or MD6 (which has its own key input), and does not apply to the NTLM and WordPress password formats. SHAKE128 and SHAKE256 are extendable-output functions: the same input can produce 8 bits or 4,096 bits, and shorter outputs are prefixes of longer ones. NTLM is MD4 applied to the UTF-16LE encoding of a password, the format Windows uses for local and domain accounts. WordPress hashes use the phpass portable format, $P$ followed by a cost character, an 8-character salt and the result of 8,192 rounds of salted MD5. Because the salt is random, the same password gives a different hash every time, so use the verify panel rather than the compare box to check one. Since WordPress 6.8, new passwords are stored with bcrypt instead, but older $P$ hashes still work.

Privacy

No text, key or file is sent anywhere. You can disconnect from the internet after the page loads and every feature keeps working. That matters for hashing confidential documents, license keys or HMAC secrets, which you should never paste into a tool that sends data to a server.

Frequently asked questions