Hash Generator

Type or paste text, or drop a file, and read its MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512 and CRC-32, each with a copy button. Paste the hash a download page or a sender gave you and the matching row lights up, or the tool says plainly that nothing matches. Text is hashed as UTF-8 exactly as typed, with a note when it ends in a line break. Files up to 512 MB are hashed in the browser; nothing is uploaded.

How it works

Hash Generator is a web page that does its work on your own device. The file you choose is opened by your browser, changed there and saved from there; it is never sent to a server, so there is no copy of it anywhere to delete, no queue and no waiting for an upload. Most online tools of this kind send your file to their servers and work on it there, and many keep it for a while. This one does not. There is no account, no watermark and no limit on how often you use it, and the result downloads the moment it is ready.

Straight to one job

SHA-256 Generator · MD5 Generator · File Checksum Checker

What a hash is for

A hash is a short fixed-length fingerprint of any data: the same text or file always gives the same hash, and the slightest change, one character or one byte, gives a completely different one. That makes it the standard way to check that a file arrived intact. A download page shows the hash the publisher computed; you compute it on the file you received, and if the two match the file is the same down to the last byte. The same idea checks that a backup copy is unchanged, that two large files are identical without comparing them, and that a configuration or a document is the version someone claims.

Which one to use

SHA-256 is the one to use today: fast, universal and with no known way to make two different inputs share a hash. SHA-512 and SHA-384 are its longer siblings, sometimes required by a policy. SHA-1 and MD5 are older and no longer safe against someone deliberately crafting a collision, but they are still printed on many download pages and used by package managers and version control to spot accidental corruption, so they are provided for checking against those. CRC-32 is not a cryptographic hash at all, only an error check, which is what ZIP files and some file transfers use. The comparison box tells the algorithms apart by the length of the hash you paste.

Text hashes, exactly

Text is hashed as its UTF-8 bytes, exactly as typed. A trailing line break, a different quote character or a space at the end changes the hash, which is the usual reason a hash of "the same text" does not match: a command line tool often adds a newline. The note under the box says when the text ends with a line break. Upper and lower case hex are the same value; tick Upper case to match how a page prints it.

What this tool does not do

• It does not hash passwords for storage. Password hashing needs a slow, salted algorithm such as bcrypt or Argon2, not a plain hash.
• It does not sign or encrypt anything; a hash proves integrity, not who made the file.
• Files up to 512 MB are read into memory and hashed; larger files need a desktop tool.

What it does

• MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512 and CRC-32 together
• Text as typed, or any file up to 512 MB
• Paste an expected hash: the algorithm is recognised and a match confirmed
• Upper or lower case hex, copy button per hash
• Warning when text ends with a line break, the usual cause of a mismatch
• Hashed in the browser with the built-in cryptography
• No upload, no account, no sign-up

Questions

How do I verify a downloaded file with its SHA-256?

Drop the file here, paste the SHA-256 shown on the download page into Compare with, and wait for the rows to fill. A green SHA-256 row means the file is byte-for-byte what the publisher hashed; No match means it is not, and you should download it again from the official source.

Is my file uploaded?

No. The file is read and hashed by your browser's built-in cryptography on your own device. Nothing is sent to us or to anyone else.

Why does my text's hash not match the one from a command line?

Usually a trailing line break: echo adds one, and so do many editors. The note under the box says when your text ends with a line break; remove it or add it to match. Different quote characters and invisible spaces are the other common causes.

Which hash should I use?

SHA-256 for anything new. MD5 and SHA-1 are provided because many download pages and tools still print them; they catch accidental corruption but can no longer prove a file was not tampered with. CRC-32 is an error check, not a security hash.

Can I hash a password here?

You can, but do not store it that way. Passwords need a slow, salted algorithm such as bcrypt, scrypt or Argon2; a plain SHA-256 of a password is cracked quickly.

What size of file can it handle?

Up to 512 MB. The file is read into memory, so a very large file on a phone may be slow; a desktop computer hashes a few hundred megabytes in seconds.

Does upper or lower case matter?

No. A hash is a hexadecimal number and both cases mean the same value; the comparison ignores case and the Upper case tick only changes how it is shown.

Is it free?

Yes, completely free, with no sign-up.

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