Hash Generator
SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512.
Hash Generator at a glance
Hash Generator is a free online developer tool you can use right now to SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512 โ no account, no install and no usage limit. It runs entirely inside your browser, so whatever you enter stays on your own device.
- Price
- Free โ no trial, no paid tier, no watermark
- Sign-up
- Not required
- Where it runs
- In your browser โ nothing is uploaded to a server
- Works on
- Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge โ desktop, tablet and phone
- Category
- Developer Tools
About Hash Generator
The Hash Generator produces SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 digests from any text. Hashing is one-way: the same input always yields the same fixed-length output, but there's no way to work backwards from a hash to the original.
The everyday use is integrity checking. Download a file, hash it, compare against the published checksum โ if a single byte differs anywhere, the hash changes completely. That avalanche property is what makes hashes useful for detecting tampering or corruption.
Two important cautions. SHA-1 is cryptographically broken โ practical collisions were demonstrated in 2017 โ so use it only for checksums against legacy systems, never for signatures or security. And no SHA variant is appropriate for storing passwords: they're designed to be fast, which is exactly wrong for password hashing. Use bcrypt, scrypt or Argon2, which are deliberately slow and salted.
How to use Hash Generator
- Choose the options you want.
- Your result is generated instantly as you tweak the settings.
- Copy or download the output โ it's ready to use.
Frequently asked questions
Which hash algorithm should I use?
SHA-256 for almost everything โ it's the current standard, widely supported and has no known practical attacks. Use SHA-512 if you specifically need a longer digest, and avoid SHA-1 for anything security-related.
Can a hash be reversed?
Not by computation. But short or common inputs can be found by brute force or rainbow tables, which is why passwords need a salt and a deliberately slow algorithm.
Why shouldn't I hash passwords with SHA-256?
Because it's fast, and speed helps attackers. Modern hardware tries billions of SHA-256 guesses per second. Password hashing needs bcrypt, scrypt or Argon2 โ built to be slow and salted by design.
Is my text sent to a server?
No. Hashing uses the browser's built-in Web Crypto API, so your input never leaves your device.