Hash Generator (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256)
Compute MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256 and SHA-512 hashes for any text.
MD5
Enter text above to compute hashSHA-1
Enter text above to compute hashSHA-256
Enter text above to compute hashSHA-384
Enter text above to compute hashSHA-512
Enter text above to compute hashFive common hash algorithms, side by side
A cryptographic hash function turns any input into a fixed-size fingerprint. Change a single byte of the input and the output changes entirely. This generator computes five of the most widely used hashes for any text you paste, all at once and all in your browser.
Supported algorithms
| Algorithm | Output size | Status |
|---|---|---|
| MD5 | 128 bits | Broken for security; fine for checksums |
| SHA-1 | 160 bits | Broken for security; phased out |
| SHA-256 | 256 bits | Secure, widely used |
| SHA-384 | 384 bits | Secure |
| SHA-512 | 512 bits | Secure, slightly faster than SHA-256 on 64-bit CPUs |
When hashes show up in real life
- File integrity — verifying a download matches the publisher’s published hash.
- Version pinning — Git object IDs are SHA-1 hashes of commits, trees and blobs.
- Content addressing — IPFS, Docker layers, and most distributed caches key by hash.
- Password storage — though modern systems use slow, salted hashes like Argon2 or bcrypt, not raw SHA-256.
How this tool works
SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 use the browser’s native crypto.subtle.digest(). MD5 is implemented in JavaScript because browsers deliberately do not expose it (it’s no longer considered safe for security-sensitive use).
Frequently asked questions
- Which hash should I use?
- For any new security work use SHA-256 or SHA-512. MD5 and SHA-1 are broken for cryptographic purposes (collisions can be produced in minutes), but they remain fine for non-adversarial checksums like file integrity within a trusted pipeline.
- Does this tool hash files, or only text?
- This tool hashes text. For file hashing, there is no server-side upload — most operating systems include a command-line tool (`shasum -a 256 <file>` on macOS/Linux, `certutil -hashfile <file> sha256` on Windows).
- Can hashing be reversed?
- No. Hashes are one-way functions — you cannot recover the original input from the hash. However, if the input space is small (like a short password or a known dictionary), an attacker can brute-force it by hashing candidates and comparing.