SHA-256 Hash Generator & Checker — Free, Online
Generate cryptographic hashes for checksums, cache keys, deduplication, or verifying that a downloaded or transmitted string matches what you expected.
- All four SHA variants are computed at once — pick the row you need.
- Paste an expected digest to check it against the computed one, character for character.
- Hashes are case-insensitive to compare but always shown lowercase here.
Encoding, decoding, hashing, and UUID generation all run in your browser. The text and tokens you paste are never uploaded, stored, or logged.
Choosing an algorithm
SHA-256 is the sensible default today: fast, widely supported, and unbroken. SHA-512 is faster on 64-bit hardware and produces a longer digest; SHA-384 is a truncated SHA-512. SHA-1 survives only for legacy compatibility — it is collision-broken and must not be used for anything security-relevant.
MD5 is deliberately absent from this tool. It is not implemented by the browser's native crypto engine and it is cryptographically broken; if a system still requires MD5 checksums, treat that as a migration task, not a tooling gap.
What a hash can verify — and what it cannot
A hash proves that two inputs are byte-identical, which makes it perfect for checksums, deduplication, and change detection. It does not prove who produced the input — for authenticity you need a keyed construction like HMAC or a digital signature (JWT verification covers the token case).
Comparing against an expected digest catches accidental corruption immediately: paste the digest published alongside a file's text, or the one your CI printed, and the tool reports a plain match/mismatch.
Frequently asked questions
Why is there no MD5?
MD5 is cryptographically broken (collisions can be forged) and the browser's native Web Crypto API does not implement it. SHA-256 is the drop-in replacement for nearly every MD5 use case.
Can I hash a file, not just text?
This page hashes text. For files, use your OS tooling (sha256sum on Linux, shasum on macOS) or a dedicated file checker — hashing files in the browser would mean uploading them, which this site never does.
Is my input uploaded for hashing?
No. Hashing runs locally with the browser's built-in crypto engine. Secrets and tokens stay on your device.