Hash Generator — MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512

Warning: MD5 and SHA-1 are considered cryptographically broken — they are only suitable for checksums and compatibility with legacy systems, never for passwords or signatures. For security, prefer SHA-256 or higher. Since the browser's Web Crypto does not implement MD5, the MD5 here is computed by a custom JavaScript implementation (the SHA algorithms use native crypto.subtle).

MD5

SHA-1

SHA-256

SHA-384

SHA-512

What is a hash function?

A hash function transforms an input of any size (a text, a file) into a fixed-size sequence — the digest. The same input always produces the same hash, and a small change in the input completely changes the result (avalanche effect). A good cryptographic hash is one-way: it is infeasible to recover the original input from the digest. Hashes are used to verify file integrity, index data, store passwords (with salt and dedicated algorithms like bcrypt/argon2) and sign content.

The algorithms in this tool

MD5 — 128 bits. Fast, but with known collisions since 2004. Use only for non-critical checksums and integration with legacy systems.
SHA-1 — 160 bits. Also broken (practical collision demonstrated in 2017, "SHAttered"). Avoid in security contexts.
SHA-256 — 256 bits, part of the SHA-2 family. Widely used and considered secure; it is the hash of Bitcoin and TLS certificates.
SHA-384 and SHA-512 — SHA-2 variants with larger digests, useful when extra security margin is desired.

How the calculation is done

The SHA hashes are calculated by the Web Crypto API (crypto.subtle.digest), native to modern browsers and implemented in optimized code. MD5, which Web Crypto deliberately does not offer (being a legacy algorithm), is calculated by a pure JavaScript implementation included on this page, following RFC 1321. In both cases, the text is first converted to UTF-8 bytes, so accented characters and emojis produce the same hash as command-line tools.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I use MD5 or SHA-1 to store passwords?

No. MD5 and SHA-1 are broken and, in addition, general-purpose hashes are too fast for passwords (making brute-force attacks easier). For passwords, use algorithms designed for that purpose, such as bcrypt, scrypt or argon2, always with salt.

Why is the hash of an accented character different from what I expected?

The result depends on the byte encoding. This tool uses UTF-8, the web standard. If another tool uses Latin-1 or UTF-16, the hash of the same text will be different because the input bytes are different.

Can I generate the hash of a file?

This version works with text. For files, the same concept applies by reading the file's bytes; we may add support for local upload (without sending) in a future version.