SHA-256
Industry-standard SHA-256 secure hash for blockchain, TLS, and digital security
Short explanation
SHA-256 is the most common SHA-2 hash function and a strong default for general-purpose cryptographic digests. It produces a 256-bit digest and is widely used for file integrity, signatures, certificates, blockchains, and security protocols.
Example input
Hello, World!Typical use
Compute a SHA-256 digest for a release artifact, message, or canonical string when you need a stable, collision-resistant fingerprint.
When to use it
- File integrity checks, release checksums, and reproducible build verification.
- Digital signature workflows and protocol designs that require a standard 256-bit hash.
- General security-sensitive hashing when password-specific slow hashing is not required.
When not to use it
- Password storage. Use Argon2id, scrypt, bcrypt, or PBKDF2 with a salt and cost settings.
- Very high-speed non-security indexing where xxHash or another non-cryptographic hash is enough.
- Cases that require extendable output; use SHAKE128 or SHAKE256 instead.
FAQ
Is SHA-256 still secure?
Yes. SHA-256 remains a widely trusted cryptographic hash for collision resistance and preimage resistance.
What is the SHA-256 output length?
SHA-256 outputs 256 bits, which is 32 bytes or 64 hexadecimal characters.
Can SHA-256 be decrypted?
No. SHA-256 is a one-way hash, not encryption. You can compare hashes, but you cannot recover the original input from the digest.
Industry-standard SHA-256 secure hash for blockchain, TLS, and digital security
SHA-224
Secure SHA-224 cryptographic hash for digital signatures and certificates
SHA-384
High-security SHA-384 hash for government and enterprise cryptographic applications
SHA-512
Powerful SHA-512 cryptographic hash for maximum security and large data integrity
SHA-512/224
Truncated SHA-512/224 hash - secure 224-bit output from SHA-512 algorithm
SHA-512/256
Truncated SHA-512/256 hash - secure 256-bit output from SHA-512 algorithm