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Generating cryptographic hashes
A hash function turns any input into a fixed-length fingerprint. The same input always gives the same hash, and changing a single character changes the output completely — which is what makes hashes useful for verifying that a file or message arrived unaltered. This generator produces SHA-256 and SHA-1 digests in your browser.
How to use the Hash Generator
- Paste your Source Text.
- SHA-256 and SHA-1 digests appear together.
- Compare against a published checksum character by character.
- The text is hashed locally and never uploaded.
Formula and a worked example
SHA-256 → 256-bit digest, shown as 64 hexadecimal characters
SHA-1 → 160-bit digest, 40 hex characters
Hashing is one-way: you cannot recover the input from the digest. SHA-1 is now considered broken for security purposes because practical collisions have been demonstrated — use it only to check against legacy systems, and prefer SHA-256 for anything that matters.
Worked example
Hashing the word hello with SHA-256 always produces 2cf24dba5fb0a30e…. Change it to Hello and the digest is entirely different — no resemblance at all, despite the one-character change.
Frequently asked questions
Can a hash be reversed?
Not by design. Short or common inputs can be found by brute force or lookup tables, which is why passwords are hashed with a salt and a deliberately slow algorithm.
Is SHA-1 still safe?
Not for security. Collisions have been produced in practice. Use SHA-256 unless you are matching a legacy checksum.
What is a hash collision?
Two different inputs producing the same digest. It should be infeasible to find one; for SHA-1 it no longer is.
Why do file downloads publish a hash?
So you can verify the file arrived intact and unmodified. Hash your download and compare it with the published value.
Related calculators
Other tools people use alongside the hash generator.