About the SHA-256 Hash Generator
SHA-256 is part of the SHA-2 family and produces a 256-bit hash of 64 hexadecimal characters. It is the default choice today for file integrity, content addressing, digital signatures, blockchain and API request signing, because no practical collision or preimage attack is known. This tool computes it from the UTF-8 bytes of your text with a WebAssembly implementation matching the reference vectors.
SHA-256 is a general-purpose cryptographic hash, but it is deliberately fast, which makes it a poor choice for password storage where slowness is a feature. For passwords use bcrypt or Argon2; for a keyed hash to authenticate a message use the HMAC Generator.
Output is available as hex or Base64, upper or lower case. Because hashing runs locally, it is safe to hash text containing tokens or personal data. For files, the File Hash Generator streams large files without loading them entirely into memory.
How to use
- Type or paste text.
- Choose hex or Base64.
- Copy the SHA-256 hash.
Common questions
- Is SHA-256 secure?
- Yes. It is the current standard for integrity and signatures, with no known practical attacks.
- Can I use SHA-256 for passwords?
- It is not ideal alone because it is fast to compute. Use bcrypt or Argon2, which are deliberately slow and salted.
- What is the difference between SHA-256 and SHA-2?
- SHA-2 is the family; SHA-256 is the 256-bit member. SHA-224, SHA-384 and SHA-512 are the others.