About hash functions
A hash function turns any input into a fixed-length fingerprint. This tool computes MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 in your browser, which is useful for verifying downloads, comparing files and generating checksums.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use MD5 or SHA-1?
Only for non-security checksums. Both have practical collision attacks. Use SHA-256 or stronger for integrity checks, and a dedicated algorithm such as bcrypt or Argon2 for storing passwords.
How do I hash a file on Linux?
sha256sum file.iso (or md5sum, sha1sum, sha512sum). On macOS use shasum -a 256 file.iso.