Online SHA-256 Hash Generator
SHA-256 is part of the SHA-2 family and produces a 256-bit hash (64 hexadecimal characters). It is widely used for security, digital certificates, and blockchain. Compute your hash directly in the browser without sending any data.
Everything runs in your browser. Your data is never sent to our servers.
Example
Example Input
hello world
Example Output
b94d27b9934d3e08a52e52d7da7dabfac484efe37a5380ee9088f7ace2efcde9
How to Use
- 1Type or paste your text into the Input field.
- 2Click the Generate Hash button (or press Ctrl+Enter) to compute the SHA-256 hash.
- 3The SHA-256 hash appears in the Output field. Click Copy to copy it to your clipboard.
- 4Click Clear to start over.
About SHA-256
SHA-256 is one of the hash functions in the SHA-2 family, designed by the NSA and published in 2001. The "256" refers to the output length: 256 bits, shown as 64 hexadecimal characters, regardless of input length.
How it works: SHA-256 processes data in 512-bit blocks through 64 compression rounds involving constants, logical functions, and bit rotations. Its design ensures a strong avalanche effect and high collision resistance, making it extremely hard to find two inputs with the same hash.
Unlike MD5 and SHA-1, SHA-256 is still considered secure and is an industry standard. It underpins TLS/HTTPS, digital certificates, code signing, and blockchains like Bitcoin. For modern security needs, SHA-256 is the recommended choice.
FAQ
Is SHA-256 secure?
Yes. SHA-256 is currently considered secure and is widely used in modern security applications, TLS/SSL, and blockchains like Bitcoin. There are no known practical collision attacks.
Is my data sent to a server?
No. SHA-256 is computed in your browser using the built-in Web Crypto API. Your data never leaves your device.
Can I use SHA-256 to store passwords?
SHA-256 is better than MD5/SHA-1, but for passwords you should still use dedicated, slow, salted algorithms like bcrypt or Argon2 to resist brute-force attacks.