How do I calculate the SHA384 hash of a file?

Click the upload area or drag and drop your file onto the page. The tool will immediately read the file, calculate its SHA384 hash using the SHA-384 cryptographic hash function, and display the 96-character hexadecimal hash value. The hash is computed by processing the entire file content through the SHA-384 algorithm, which produces a unique 384-bit (48-byte) fingerprint represented as 96 hexadecimal characters. You can then copy the hash to your clipboard for verification or comparison purposes. The hashing happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript—your file is never uploaded to any server, ensuring complete privacy. For large files, hashing may take a few seconds as the browser processes all the bytes. The tool shows file details including name, type, size, and the resulting SHA384 hash. For images, you will see a preview before hashing to verify you have selected the correct file. SHA384 hashes are deterministic—the same file always produces the same hash, making them perfect for file integrity verification and duplicate detection with enhanced cryptographic security beyond SHA256.

What file types can I calculate SHA384 hashes for?

You can calculate SHA384 hashes for absolutely any file type—images (JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, SVG, BMP), documents (PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, CSV, MD), archives (ZIP, RAR, TAR, GZ), audio files (MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG), video files (MP4, AVI, MOV, MKV), executables, databases, fonts, code files, configuration files, and more. SHA384 hashing works at the binary level, processing raw bytes to produce a unique 384-bit fingerprint regardless of file format. The hash is calculated from the file content, not the filename or metadata, so renaming a file does not change its hash. This makes SHA384 perfect for verifying file integrity after downloads with enhanced cryptographic security beyond SHA256, detecting duplicate files even with different names, validating that a file has not been modified or corrupted, and creating unique file identifiers with very strong collision resistance. SHA384 is part of the SHA-2 family and provides 192-bit security level, commonly used for TLS/SSL certificates, high-security applications, and systems requiring stronger hashing than SHA256.

Why use SHA384 for file verification instead of MD5, SHA1, or SHA256?

SHA384 provides enhanced cryptographic security beyond SHA256 with 192-bit collision resistance. MD5 is completely broken—researchers can create collisions in seconds, making it unsuitable for security. SHA1 is also compromised with known collision attacks demonstrated in 2017. SHA256 is secure for most applications but SHA384 provides stronger security for high-value systems, long-term archival, compliance requirements mandating enhanced hashing, TLS/SSL certificates requiring stronger security, and applications where maximum cryptographic strength is preferred. SHA384 is based on SHA-512 algorithm with truncated output, providing SHA-512 security properties with reasonable hash size. Use SHA384 for security-critical file verification including long-term digital signatures, government and defense applications, financial systems with high security requirements, and certificate generation requiring enhanced security. SHA384 runs at reasonable speed on modern 64-bit hardware and is widely supported across platforms and programming languages. Many security standards now recommend or mandate SHA384 minimum for high-security applications. This tool provides SHA384 specifically for maximum security and compatibility with enhanced security requirements beyond SHA256.

Is there a file size limit for SHA384 hashing?

There is no hard file size limit imposed by the tool, but practical browser memory limitations apply. Most modern browsers can handle files up to 100-500 MB without issues when hashing with SHA384. Larger files may work but could cause your browser to slow down or run out of memory, especially on mobile devices or older computers. SHA384 hashing requires the entire file to be read into memory (or streamed in chunks) to compute the hash. The tool processes files efficiently using JavaScript implementation of SHA-384, which is optimized for performance on 64-bit systems. For very large files (over 1 GB), consider using command-line tools which can handle unlimited file sizes. The tool processes files entirely in browser memory for security and privacy, so available RAM determines the maximum practical file size. The resulting SHA384 hash is always exactly 96 hexadecimal characters (384 bits) regardless of file size—a 1 KB file and a 1 GB file both produce 96-character hashes, making SHA384 ideal for creating consistent file fingerprints across any file size with enhanced security.

What is the difference between SHA384, SHA256, and SHA512 for file hashing?

The algorithms differ in security strength, hash length, and performance characteristics. SHA256 produces a 256-bit (64 hex character) hash using 32-bit words, providing good security with 128-bit collision resistance and optimal compatibility. SHA384 produces a 384-bit (96 hex character) hash using 64-bit words, providing enhanced security with 192-bit collision resistance and faster performance on 64-bit systems. SHA512 produces a 512-bit (128 hex character) hash using 64-bit words, providing maximum security with 256-bit collision resistance. SHA384 is essentially truncated SHA512, running at the same speed—both use the full SHA-512 algorithm. All three are part of the SHA-2 family and are cryptographically secure with no known practical attacks. Use SHA256 for general-purpose secure hashing and maximum compatibility—it is the most common choice. Use SHA384 for enhanced security requirements, TLS/SSL certificates, long-term signatures, or compliance mandating stronger hashing than SHA256. Use SHA512 for maximum security where hash size is not a concern. On modern 64-bit systems, SHA384 and SHA512 perform similarly and often faster than SHA256. For most applications, SHA256 is sufficient. For high-security applications, SHA384 provides optimal balance of enhanced security and reasonable hash size.

How do I verify file downloads using SHA384 checksums?

Many software download pages provide SHA384 checksums to verify file integrity and authenticity, especially for security-critical downloads. After downloading a file, use this tool to calculate its SHA384 hash, then compare the calculated hash with the published checksum from the download page. If the hashes match exactly (all 96 hexadecimal characters identical), the file downloaded correctly without corruption or tampering. If even one character differs, the file is corrupted or has been modified—download it again or report the issue. This verification process ensures the file was not altered during transmission by network errors, corrupted by disk issues, or tampered with by malicious actors. SHA384 provides very strong cryptographic security for integrity verification with 192-bit collision resistance, making it suitable for high-security downloads. The comparison is case-insensitive—both uppercase and lowercase hex characters represent the same value. Some download pages provide multiple checksums (SHA256, SHA384, SHA512) for different security levels—SHA384 provides enhanced security beyond SHA256. This verification technique is especially important for security software, long-term archival, certificate authorities, government systems, and any downloads where maximum integrity and authenticity assurance is required. Publishers requiring enhanced security provide SHA384 checksums.

Can identical files have different SHA384 hashes?

No—SHA384 is deterministic, meaning the same file content always produces exactly the same SHA384 hash, regardless of filename, location, or when it was hashed. If two files have identical byte content, they will have identical SHA384 hashes. This property makes SHA384 perfect for duplicate file detection—scan all files in a directory, hash each one, and files with matching hashes are duplicates (even if they have different names or are in different folders). However, files with even a single byte difference will produce completely different hashes due to the avalanche effect—changing one bit changes approximately half the hash bits. Conversely, different files can theoretically have the same SHA384 hash (a collision), but this is astronomically unlikely in practice and computationally infeasible to create intentionally with current and foreseeable technology. SHA384 provides 192-bit collision resistance, making accidental or intentional collisions virtually impossible—far more secure than SHA256. For duplicate detection, rename detection, or cache verification, you can safely assume identical SHA384 hashes mean identical file content with extremely high confidence. This deterministic property makes SHA384 reliable for deduplication, content-addressable storage, and distributed systems requiring enhanced security.

Can I calculate SHA384 hashes for images and see previews?

Yes! Upload any image file (JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, BMP, TIFF, SVG, ICO) and the tool will show a preview of the image before calculating its SHA384 hash. The hash is computed from the binary image data, not the visual appearance—even visually identical images with different compression, metadata, or formats will have different hashes. This is useful for verifying downloaded images match expected checksums with very strong cryptographic security, detecting duplicate photos even with different filenames or formats, creating unique identifiers for images in databases or CDNs with enhanced collision resistance, comparing image files byte-for-byte for exact matches, and analyzing how image edits change the hash completely. After hashing, you can use the SHA384 value to identify the image in high-security systems, verify it has not been altered, or check if you have already downloaded it before. Remember that even minor changes (adding EXIF metadata, changing compression level, rotating the image) produce completely different hashes. For visual similarity matching, use perceptual hashing algorithms instead. For exact byte-level matching and enhanced cryptographic verification beyond SHA256, SHA384 works perfectly and is used in high-security applications.

Is my file safe when using this SHA384 calculator?

Yes, absolutely safe! All SHA384 hashing happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your file is never uploaded to any server, never transmitted over the internet, and never stored anywhere except temporarily in your browser memory during the hashing process. Once you close or refresh the page, all data is immediately cleared from memory. This client-side approach ensures complete privacy—even the most sensitive files (classified documents, financial data, personal photos, proprietary information, encryption keys, confidential contracts, source code) can be safely hashed without leaving your device. SHA384 is a one-way hash function, meaning you cannot reverse the hash to recover the original file—the hash is just a cryptographic fingerprint. The 384-bit output provides very strong security as an enhanced standard beyond SHA256. However, if someone has your file, they can calculate its hash and compare, so treat SHA384 hashes of sensitive files with appropriate care. If you need to verify file integrity without revealing the file content, SHA384 hashing is perfect because you can share the hash publicly while keeping the file private. This is how secure publishers verify downloads—they publish hashes, users calculate and compare.

What are common use cases for SHA384 file hashing?

SHA384 file hashing is used in security-critical applications requiring enhanced cryptographic strength beyond SHA256. TLS/SSL certificates use SHA384 for digital signatures in high-security implementations and long-lived certificates requiring stronger hashing. Certificate authorities use SHA384 for intermediate and root certificates requiring enhanced security. Software distribution for security-critical applications uses SHA384 checksums to verify installers have not been corrupted or tampered with. Government and defense systems use SHA384 to verify classified files and sensitive documents. Long-term digital signatures use SHA384 when signatures must remain secure for decades against future cryptographic advances. Financial institutions use SHA384 for high-value transaction verification and regulatory compliance requiring strong cryptography. Code signing certificates use SHA384 for security-critical software requiring enhanced assurance. Container images (Docker) in high-security environments use SHA384 to verify image layers. Blockchain systems requiring enhanced security use SHA384 for transaction verification. Digital forensics uses SHA384 for evidence chain-of-custody requiring maximum integrity assurance. Backup systems for sensitive data use SHA384 for file change detection. Any application requiring very strong file integrity verification, long-term cryptographic protection, or compliance with enhanced security standards uses SHA384 as the trusted choice beyond SHA256.