Hex bytes appear here. Useful for spotting encoding mismatches when your hash differs from a server.
Hash Generator — MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-512
What is a hash?
A hash function turns any input into a fixed-size fingerprint. Same input always produces the same output, and changing even one byte changes the whole fingerprint. That property makes hashes useful for file verification, checksums, content addressing, and digital signatures. This tool computes the four most common algorithms at once so you can compare against any published checksum without switching tools.
How to use
- Pick Text or File mode in the toolbar.
- Type or paste text, or drop a file into the left pane.
- All four hashes appear in the right pane and update live as you type.
- Press Copy on the algorithm you need.
- To identify an unknown hash, paste it into the Verify field at the bottom. The tool tells you which of the four algorithms produced it (if any).
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I still use MD5 or SHA-1?
For cryptographic purposes (passwords, digital signatures, certificate fingerprints) no. Both have known collision attacks and are no longer considered secure. They remain fine for non-security uses where speed matters more than collision resistance: content addressing, deduplication, ETags, file change detection. The badge next to each algorithm in this tool reflects that distinction.
Why do four algorithms compute at once instead of letting me pick?
Hashing the same input four ways takes microseconds for text and milliseconds for typical files. Showing all four removes the friction of guessing which algorithm a hash you're verifying came from. If you only need one, copy the one you want and ignore the rest.
Does the tool work with large files?
Yes, but everything happens in your browser, so file size is limited by your machine's memory rather than upload bandwidth. SHA functions run via the Web Crypto API and are fast. MD5 is pure JavaScript and may take a few seconds on multi-GB files. Watch the input stats in the toolbar to see what's loaded.
Why does hashing the same text give a different result than my server?
Almost always a character-encoding mismatch. This tool encodes text as UTF-8 before hashing. If your server hashes UTF-16 or Latin-1, the byte stream differs and so does the hash. Hash the raw file bytes (use File mode) to avoid encoding ambiguity entirely.
What does the Verify field actually do?
It compares the hash you paste against the four hashes just generated above. If it matches one, you learn which algorithm produced it. Use it to confirm a downloaded file matches a published checksum: paste the file in the input, paste the published hash in Verify, and look for the match indicator.