`crypto.createHash()`

Creates a Hash object to compute a digest of data.

Since Node 0.x Spec ↗

Syntax

crypto.createHash(algorithm[, options])

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`algorithm`	`string`	Yes	The hash algorithm, e.g. `'sha256'`, `'sha512'`, `'md5'`.
`options`	`object`	No	Stream options such as `outputLength` for XOF algorithms.

Returns

Hash — A Hash stream you update and digest.

Examples

import { createHash } from 'node:crypto';

const digest = createHash('sha256').update('hello').digest('hex');
console.log(digest);

Output

2cf24dba5fb0a30e26e83b2ac5b9e29e1b161e5c1fa7425e73043362938b9824

import { createHash } from 'node:crypto';
import { createReadStream } from 'node:fs';

const hash = createHash('sha256');
createReadStream('big.iso').pipe(hash).on('finish', () => {
  console.log(hash.digest('hex'));
});

Output

9f86d0818884...

Notes

Use SHA-256+ for integrity/checksums. NEVER hash passwords with a plain hash; use `scrypt`, bcrypt, or argon2. A Hash object is single use - call `digest()` once, then it cannot be updated again.