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Hash Generator – MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512

Calculate five common hashes of text or a file in one go, and check a download against its published checksum. Everything is computed in your browser.

Type some text or choose a file to see its hashes.

How to generate a hash

  1. Choose Text or File. For text, type or paste into the box and the hashes update as you type. For a file, drag it onto the drop area or tap to choose one.
  2. Read the results. MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 appear together, each with its own copy button. For a file, its name and size are shown above the list.
  3. Optionally paste an expected hash into the compare box. The tool tells you whether it matches and which algorithm it belongs to.
  4. Switch on Uppercase letters if the system you're pasting into expects capital hex digits.

Features

  • Five algorithms at once: MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512, calculated together from one input.
  • Text or file input, with drag and drop for files of any type.
  • Checksum comparison against all five results, with the matching algorithm highlighted.
  • Progress bar for large files and a warning above 100 MB.
  • Lowercase or uppercase hex output.
  • One-tap copy for each hash.
  • UTF-8 text hashing, the standard encoding used by other hashing tools, so text in any language gives consistent results.

Why use Fileora's hash generator

People hash things they would never upload: installers, contracts, database exports, private keys, or text containing passwords. Fileora reads the file and computes every hash inside your browser. Nothing is transmitted, stored or logged, which also means a multi-gigabyte file doesn't have to crawl over your connection first.

It's free, has no sign-up and no daily cap, and it works on phones, which is useful when you want to verify an APK or a document you've just downloaded to your mobile.

Looking for a single algorithm? The MD5 generator and SHA-256 generator put that hash first. For random IDs rather than fingerprints, try the UUID generator.

What a hash function does

A hash function turns input of any size into a short, fixed-length fingerprint. The same input always produces the same hash, and changing a single bit produces a completely different one. MD5 gives 128 bits (32 hex characters), SHA-1 gives 160 bits (40), SHA-256 gives 256 bits (64), SHA-384 gives 96 hex characters and SHA-512 gives 128.

A good hash should also make it infeasible to find two inputs with the same output, which is called a collision. Researchers have produced practical collisions for MD5 and SHA-1, so neither should be trusted where someone might craft a malicious file. The SHA-2 family, which includes SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512, has no known practical collisions.

Note that fast hashes like these are not suitable for storing passwords on their own. Password storage needs a deliberately slow algorithm designed for that job, which this tool does not provide.

Frequently asked questions

Which hash algorithm should I use?

For anything to do with security, such as signatures, certificates or tamper detection, use SHA-256 or higher. For quick integrity checks, like confirming a download finished correctly, any of them works, so use whichever one the publisher lists. MD5 and SHA-1 are still common on older download pages but shouldn't be relied on against a deliberate attacker.

Can a hash be reversed to get the original text?

No. A hash is a one-way function: it throws information away, so there is no key and no way to calculate the input from the output. Sites that claim to decrypt hashes simply look them up in huge lists of previously hashed common words, which only works for short, guessable inputs.

Is hashing the same as encryption?

No. Encryption is designed to be reversed by whoever holds the key. A hash can't be reversed by anyone. Hashes are used to check that data is unchanged or to identify it, not to keep it secret for later reading.

Why does my hash differ from another tool's?

The input is almost always different, even if it looks the same. A trailing space or line break, Windows versus Unix line endings, or a different text encoding all change the result completely. This tool hashes text exactly as typed, encoded as UTF-8. Upper- or lowercase letters in the hash itself don't matter; they represent the same value.

Are my files uploaded to calculate the hash?

No. The file is read by your browser and hashed on your device. SHA hashes use the browser's built-in Web Crypto engine and MD5 uses a small JavaScript library. You can disconnect from the internet after the page loads and it will still work.

Is there a file size limit?

There is no fixed limit, but the whole file is read into memory, so very large files depend on your device. Above 100 MB the tool warns you that hashing may be slow, and a progress bar shows how far it has got.

How does the compare box work?

Paste a checksum into it and the tool compares it with all five results. If it matches any of them, you'll see which algorithm matched; if not, you'll see a clear warning. Spaces and letter case in the pasted value are ignored.

Can't find the tool you need, or something isn't working?

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