About
Paste text, pick an algorithm, and read the digest. The usual reason to be here is comparison: you have a hash from somewhere else and you want to know whether your copy of the content produces the same one.
How to use
Paste the text, choose SHA-1, SHA-256 or SHA-512, and generate. When you are comparing against a published value, confirm both sides used the same algorithm before concluding anything from a mismatch.
Choosing between the three
SHA-256 is the default for anything new and the one most published checksums use. SHA-512 gives a longer digest and often runs faster on 64 bit hardware, which matters only at volume. SHA-1 remains in the list because older systems and older records still speak it, and refusing to compute it would not make those systems go away. It should not be chosen for anything new.
Whitespace is part of the input
Hashing is exact. A trailing newline changes the digest completely, as does a Windows line ending where the other side used a Unix one, and so does a non breaking space that arrived invisibly from a copied web page. When a comparison fails and the two texts look identical, the difference is nearly always at the end of a line or in a character that does not draw.
Text here, files on your own machine
This page hashes what you paste into it. Files are better handled by the command your system already ships, both because nothing has to be uploaded and because it will happily read a value larger than a browser text box wants to hold. Use this to check a string, a config fragment, or a value someone sent you.
A digest is not password storage
Storing a plain SHA hash of a password is a well known mistake, because the function is fast and that speed is exactly what an attacker wants. Password storage needs a function built to be slow and salted per user, which means bcrypt, scrypt or Argon2. Use this to verify content, not to protect credentials.
FAQ
Can a digest be turned back into the original text?
No. A hash is one way by design, and that property is what makes it useful for comparison.
Which algorithm should I pick?
SHA-256 unless something forces your hand. SHA-512 is fine and sometimes faster on 64 bit machines. SHA-1 is there for old systems that still expect it, not because it is a good choice.
Can I hash a file with this?
This takes text. For a file, use the tool your operating system already has, which is certutil on Windows, shasum on macOS, and sha256sum on Linux.
Two supposedly identical inputs gave different digests. Why?
Something differs in bytes even though it looks the same. A trailing newline, a Windows line ending, or a non breaking space pasted from a web page will all do it.
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