VSThiran

Technology & Developers

Free Hash Generator

Generate SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 hashes as you type.

Free to useNo sign-up requiredNo watermarkRuns in your browser

This free hash generator produces SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 digests from any text, all four at once, updating as you type. It uses the Web Crypto API built into your browser rather than a third-party implementation.

Because the hashing happens locally, you can safely hash something sensitive - a token, a document fragment, a password you are checking against a known digest - without it being transmitted anywhere.

How this tool works

  1. Type or paste your text

    All four digests are computed at once and update on every keystroke.

  2. Pick the algorithm you need

    SHA-256 is the sensible default. SHA-512 is stronger and no slower on 64-bit hardware. SHA-1 is there only for legacy systems.

  3. Copy the digest

    Each hash has its own copy button, so you can take just the one you need.

How it works

A hash function turns any input into a fixed-length string of hexadecimal characters. The same input always gives the same output, and the smallest change to the input - a single character - produces a completely different hash.

Hashing is one-way. There is no operation that turns a digest back into the original text. So-called hash "decrypters" are lookup tables of previously computed hashes for common inputs, not reversals.

The digests come from your browser's Web Crypto implementation, which is the same audited code used for TLS. Nothing is reimplemented here.

Web Crypto requires a secure context, so the tool works on this HTTPS site but may be unavailable if a browser is serving the page over plain HTTP.

Which algorithm should you use?

SHA-256The default choice for checksums, signatures and integrity checks
SHA-512Stronger, and often faster than SHA-256 on 64-bit systems
SHA-384A truncated SHA-512, required by some standards and protocols
SHA-1Broken since 2017. Legacy compatibility only, never for security
MD5Not offered - see below

Why MD5 is not here

Browsers do not provide MD5 through Web Crypto, deliberately. It has been known to be collision-prone since the 1990s and thoroughly broken since 2004, meaning two different inputs can be made to produce the same hash.

Adding a third-party MD5 implementation would mean shipping extra code purely to offer an algorithm nobody should be choosing. If you have inherited a system that requires MD5, that system needs updating rather than accommodating.

Hashing a password is not enough

If you are storing passwords, a plain SHA-256 digest is not adequate. Fast hash functions are exactly the wrong tool, because an attacker can try billions of guesses a second against them.

Password storage needs a deliberately slow, salted algorithm designed for the job - bcrypt, scrypt or Argon2. Use this tool for checksums and integrity, not for building a login system.

Worked examples

Verifying a download

Compare the SHA-256 the publisher lists against the hash of what you received. A single differing character means the file is not identical.

Detecting a change

Hash a configuration block before and after an edit. Different digests prove something changed, even if you cannot see what.

The classic test vector

The text "abc" has the SHA-256 digest ba7816bf…f20015ad, a value used to check implementations for decades.

Frequently asked questions

Is this hash generator free?

Yes, free with no sign-up and no limit on how much text you hash.

Is my data sent to a server?

No. Everything runs in your browser, so whatever you paste never leaves your device. That matters here more than on most tools - people paste API keys, tokens and customer records into encoders and formatters without thinking about it.

Can a hash be reversed?

No. Hashing is one-way by design. Sites offering to "decrypt" a hash are searching a database of pre-computed hashes for common inputs - they work only for weak, guessable values.

Why is MD5 not available?

Browsers do not offer it, and it has been cryptographically broken for two decades. Use SHA-256 for anything that matters.

Is SHA-1 safe to use?

Not for security. A practical collision was demonstrated in 2017. It remains here only because some legacy systems and older Git tooling still expect it.

Can I hash a file?

This tool hashes text. For file checksums, your operating system has built-in commands: shasum -a 256 on macOS and Linux, or Get-FileHash in PowerShell on Windows.