SHA-256 Hash Generator
Generate the 256-bit SHA-256 hash of any text instantly. Free, private and secure — your text is hashed locally in your browser using the Web Crypto API and never uploaded.
How to generate a SHA-256 hash
- Enter your text. Type or paste the string, message or file contents you want to hash into the box above.
- Read the hash instantly. The 64-character SHA-256 digest updates as you type. Toggle Uppercase output if you need uppercase hexadecimal.
- Copy the result. Press Copy to place the SHA-256 hash on your clipboard, ready to paste into a checksum field, script or database.
About this tool
SHA-256 is part of the SHA-2 family designed by the NSA and published by NIST. It turns any input into a fixed 256-bit value shown here as 64 hexadecimal characters. Unlike MD5 and SHA-1, SHA-256 has no known practical collision attacks, which is why it underpins TLS certificates, Bitcoin, Git object IDs, software signing and file-integrity verification. The same input always produces the same digest, so you can use it to confirm that a file or message has not been changed.
This generator computes the hash from the UTF-8 bytes of your text using the browser's built-in Web Crypto API, so accented characters and emoji hash correctly. Everything happens locally on your device — your text is never uploaded, stored or logged, and the tool keeps working offline once loaded. For hashing passwords for storage, remember to add a unique salt and use a slow password-hashing scheme such as bcrypt, scrypt or Argon2 on top of SHA-256.
Frequently asked questions
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. The SHA-256 hash is computed in your browser with the native Web Crypto API. Your text never leaves your device, so it is safe to hash confidential data.
Is SHA-256 secure?
Yes. SHA-256 is considered cryptographically secure and is recommended for integrity checks and digital signatures. No practical collision or preimage attack against it is known today.
Can I get my original text back from the hash?
No. SHA-256 is a one-way function, so the input cannot be recovered from the hash. To store passwords safely, combine SHA-256 with a random salt and a slow hashing algorithm like bcrypt or Argon2.
Why does an online hash differ from my command line?
SHA-256 is deterministic, so any difference comes from the input, not the algorithm. Check for a trailing newline, different whitespace, or a byte-order mark. This tool hashes exactly the UTF-8 bytes you enter, with no added newline.