Hash Generator

Generate cryptographic hashes from text using SHA-2 algorithms.

Input

SHA-256 Hash

A cryptographic hash function takes any input and produces a fixed-length fingerprint. The same input always produces the same hash; even a single character change produces a completely different output. This makes hashes useful for verifying data integrity, generating checksums, and storing passwords.

This tool uses the browser's built-in crypto.subtle.digest API, part of the Web Crypto standard. All three algorithms here belong to the SHA-2 family: SHA-256 produces a 256-bit (64 hex character) digest, SHA-384 produces 384 bits, and SHA-512 produces 512 bits. Longer digests provide more collision resistance.

MD5 and SHA-1 are intentionally excluded — both have known collision vulnerabilities and are no longer considered cryptographically secure. SHA-256 or higher is recommended for all new applications.

Link to this tool with values filled in

Everything after the # stays in your browser — it is never sent to a server — so a link like this opens the tool ready to go without the values travelling anywhere but the address bar:

https://crunchify.net/tools/hash#text=hello&algorithm=SHA-256

Join the settings with &, and percent-encode each value so that spaces, newlines and any #, &, = or % inside one do not break the link. Leave a setting out to accept its default. If a setting is not recognised, the page says so rather than quietly ignoring it.

text (also input,value,qorstring) — text, up to 1024 characters, required. The text to hash.
algorithm (also algoorhash) — SHA-256, SHA-384 or SHA-512, defaults to SHA-256. SHA-2 only. MD5 and SHA-1 are deliberately not offered.
format (also encodingoroutput) — hex, base64 or base64url, defaults to hex. How to render the digest bytes.

The tool reads these on arrival but never writes them back, so what you type here stays out of your browser history.

What is a hash and what is it used for?

A cryptographic hash function produces a fixed-length fingerprint (digest) from any input. The same input always gives the same hash; any change in input gives a completely different hash. Uses: verifying file integrity, storing passwords safely, generating checksums, and digital signatures.

What is the difference between SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512?

All three are in the SHA-2 family. SHA-256 produces a 256-bit (64 hex character) digest; SHA-384 produces 384 bits; SHA-512 produces 512 bits. Longer digests provide more collision resistance. SHA-256 is the most widely used; SHA-512 can be faster on 64-bit CPUs.

Why are MD5 and SHA-1 not included?

Both MD5 and SHA-1 have known collision vulnerabilities — it is computationally feasible to craft two different inputs that produce the same hash. They are no longer considered cryptographically secure for integrity checking or digital signatures.

Can I use a hash to store passwords?

Not raw SHA hashes — they are too fast, making brute-force attacks practical. For password storage, use a dedicated password hashing algorithm: bcrypt, scrypt, or Argon2. These are deliberately slow and include a salt to prevent rainbow table attacks.

How do I verify a file download using a hash?

The file provider publishes the expected hash (e.g., SHA-256: abc123...). After downloading, compute the hash of your file and compare. If they match, the file is intact and unmodified. Any difference means the file was corrupted or tampered with.

Updated August 27, 2026