A cryptographic hash turns any input into a fixed-length fingerprint, and developers reach for one constantly: confirming a downloaded installer matches the checksum published on the project site, deduplicating files by content instead of name, or generating cache keys. This tool computes MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 digests simultaneously, so whichever algorithm the other side published, the matching value is already on screen.
You can hash text by typing or pasting it, or load any file and the tool hashes its raw bytes locally. Each algorithm gets its own row with a dedicated Copy button, making it painless to grab exactly the digest you need. The SHA family runs on the Web Crypto implementation built into your browser, the same hardened code the browser itself relies on.
Hashing is exactly the kind of job that should never require an upload, and here it does not. The file or text you provide is read and digested entirely on your own machine, with the SHA algorithms running through your browser's built-in Web Crypto engine. Nothing you hash is transmitted or seen by anyone but you.
For anything new, use SHA-256: it is fast, universally supported and has no known practical attacks. SHA-384 and SHA-512 give larger outputs where policy requires them. Use MD5 or SHA-1 only to match a checksum someone already published in that format.
Not for security. Attackers can deliberately craft two different inputs with the same MD5 or SHA-1 digest, so neither should protect passwords, signatures or certificates. They remain fine for accidental-corruption checks, such as confirming a file survived a transfer intact.
Hashes cover exact bytes, so any invisible difference changes the result completely. The usual culprits are a trailing newline, Windows versus Unix line endings, or a different character encoding. Check for stray whitespace before assuming the content differs.