create-hash

What is create-hash?

The create-hash npm package is a utility for creating hash digests of data. It implements the Node.js crypto.createHash API in pure JavaScript, making it compatible with environments where Node's native crypto module is not available. This package supports various hashing algorithms, such as SHA-1, SHA-256, and MD5, allowing users to generate fixed-size hash outputs from input data. It is commonly used for creating unique identifiers, checksums, or for password hashing and data integrity verification.

What are create-hash's main functionalities?

Creating a SHA-256 hash

This code demonstrates how to create a SHA-256 hash of the string 'hello world'. It uses the 'create-hash' package to create a hash object, updates the hash with the input data, and then outputs the digest in hexadecimal format.

"use strict";\nconst createHash = require('create-hash');\nconst hash = createHash('sha256');\nhash.update('hello world');\nconsole.log(hash.digest('hex'));

Creating an MD5 hash

This example shows how to generate an MD5 hash of the string 'example data'. Similar to the previous example, it creates an MD5 hash object, updates it with the input, and outputs the resulting digest in hex format.

"use strict";\nconst createHash = require('create-hash');\nconst hash = createHash('md5');\nhash.update('example data');\nconsole.log(hash.digest('hex'));

Other packages similar to create-hash

crypto-js

Crypto-js is a package that provides cryptographic functionalities including various hash functions, cipher algorithms, and secure random number generators. Compared to create-hash, crypto-js offers a broader range of cryptographic functions beyond just hashing.

hash.js

Hash.js is a lightweight hash library that supports several hash algorithms like SHA-1, SHA-256, and SHA-512. While similar in functionality to create-hash, hash.js focuses on being a minimalistic and standalone hash library.

README

create-hash

Node style hashes for use in the browser, with native hash functions in node.

API is the same as hashes in node:

var createHash = require('create-hash')
var hash = createHash('sha224')
hash.update('synchronous write') // optional encoding parameter
hash.digest() // synchronously get result with optional encoding parameter

hash.write('write to it as a stream')
hash.end() // remember it's a stream
hash.read() // only if you ended it as a stream though

To get the JavaScript version even in node do require('create-hash/browser')