Hash Generator
Generate SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 hashes.
Runs in your browser — your text never leaves your device.
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About this tool
A cryptographic hash turns any input into a fixed-length fingerprint. The same input always produces the same output, while changing a single character produces something completely different, and the process cannot be reversed. That makes hashes useful for verifying that a file or message arrived intact, for comparing two values without storing the originals, and as a building block inside signatures and tokens. This tool computes SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 using the browser's own Web Crypto implementation, and shows each result in both hexadecimal and Base64 since different systems expect different encodings. SHA-256 is the sensible default for almost everything. SHA-1 is included because you will still meet it in older systems such as Git object identifiers, but it is no longer considered safe against a determined attacker. All hashing happens locally, so whatever you paste stays on your device.
How to use it
- Paste or type the text you want to hash
- Choose which algorithms to compute
- Copy the hex or Base64 result you need
Frequently asked questions
Why is MD5 not offered?
Because it has been cryptographically broken since 2004 and browsers deliberately exclude it from the Web Crypto API. Offering it would mean hand-rolling a broken algorithm and implying it is fit for a purpose it is not. If you need MD5 for a legacy checksum, use a dedicated tool and treat the result as a non-security identifier only.
Can a hash be reversed back to the original text?
Not directly, since hashing discards information. But short or common inputs can be recovered by simply hashing every candidate and comparing, which is how password cracking works. A hash on its own is not a way to hide a value.
Is this how I should store passwords?
No. Plain SHA-256 is far too fast, which is exactly what an attacker wants. Passwords need a deliberately slow, salted algorithm such as bcrypt, scrypt or Argon2. Use these hashes for integrity checks and identifiers, not for credential storage.
Which algorithm should I choose?
SHA-256 unless something specifically requires otherwise. It is fast, universally supported and has no known practical weaknesses. SHA-512 is not meaningfully more secure for most purposes, though it can be faster on 64-bit hardware.
Why do hex and Base64 look so different?
They are two encodings of the same bytes. Hex uses sixteen characters and is easier to read and compare by eye, while Base64 is more compact. A SHA-256 hash is 32 bytes, which is 64 hex characters or 44 Base64 characters.