HashAlgorithm.ComputeHash Method

Definition

Computes the hash value for the input data.

Overloads

ComputeHash(Byte[])

Computes the hash value for the specified byte array.

ComputeHash(Stream)

Computes the hash value for the specified Stream object.

ComputeHash(Byte[], Int32, Int32)

Computes the hash value for the specified region of the specified byte array.

ComputeHash(Byte[])

Source:
HashAlgorithm.cs
Source:
HashAlgorithm.cs
Source:
HashAlgorithm.cs

Computes the hash value for the specified byte array.

C#
public byte[] ComputeHash(byte[] buffer);

Parameters

buffer
Byte[]

The input to compute the hash code for.

Returns

Byte[]

The computed hash code.

Exceptions

buffer is null.

The object has already been disposed.

Examples

The following example computes the SHA256 hash value of a string and returns the hash as a 64-character, hexadecimal-formatted string. The hash string created by this code example is compatible with any SHA256 hash function (on any platform) that creates a 64-character, hexadecimal-formatted hash string.

C#
using System;
using System.Security.Cryptography;
using System.Text;

public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        string source = "Hello World!";
        using (SHA256 sha256Hash = SHA256.Create())
        {
            string hash = GetHash(sha256Hash, source);

            Console.WriteLine($"The SHA256 hash of {source} is: {hash}.");

            Console.WriteLine("Verifying the hash...");

            if (VerifyHash(sha256Hash, source, hash))
            {
                Console.WriteLine("The hashes are the same.");
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine("The hashes are not same.");
            }
        }
    }

    private static string GetHash(HashAlgorithm hashAlgorithm, string input)
    {

        // Convert the input string to a byte array and compute the hash.
        byte[] data = hashAlgorithm.ComputeHash(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(input));

        // Create a new Stringbuilder to collect the bytes
        // and create a string.
        var sBuilder = new StringBuilder();

        // Loop through each byte of the hashed data
        // and format each one as a hexadecimal string.
        for (int i = 0; i < data.Length; i++)
        {
            sBuilder.Append(data[i].ToString("x2"));
        }

        // Return the hexadecimal string.
        return sBuilder.ToString();
    }

    // Verify a hash against a string.
    private static bool VerifyHash(HashAlgorithm hashAlgorithm, string input, string hash)
    {
        // Hash the input.
        var hashOfInput = GetHash(hashAlgorithm, input);

        // Create a StringComparer an compare the hashes.
        StringComparer comparer = StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase;

        return comparer.Compare(hashOfInput, hash) == 0;
    }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//    The SHA256 hash of Hello World! is: 7f83b1657ff1fc53b92dc18148a1d65dfc2d4b1fa3d677284addd200126d9069.
//    Verifying the hash...
//    The hashes are the same.

Applies to

.NET 9 and other versions
Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1

ComputeHash(Stream)

Source:
HashAlgorithm.cs
Source:
HashAlgorithm.cs
Source:
HashAlgorithm.cs

Computes the hash value for the specified Stream object.

C#
public byte[] ComputeHash(System.IO.Stream inputStream);

Parameters

inputStream
Stream

The input to compute the hash code for.

Returns

Byte[]

The computed hash code.

Exceptions

The object has already been disposed.

Examples

The following example calculates the SHA256 hash for all files in a directory.

C#
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Security.Cryptography;

public class HashDirectory
{
    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        if (args.Length < 1)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("No directory selected.");
            return;
        }

        string directory = args[0];
        if (Directory.Exists(directory))
        {
            // Create a DirectoryInfo object representing the specified directory.
            var dir = new DirectoryInfo(directory);
            // Get the FileInfo objects for every file in the directory.
            FileInfo[] files = dir.GetFiles();
            // Initialize a SHA256 hash object.
            using (SHA256 mySHA256 = SHA256.Create())
            {
                // Compute and print the hash values for each file in directory.
                foreach (FileInfo fInfo in files)
                {
                    using (FileStream fileStream = fInfo.Open(FileMode.Open))
                    {
                        try
                        {
                            // Create a fileStream for the file.
                            // Be sure it's positioned to the beginning of the stream.
                            fileStream.Position = 0;
                            // Compute the hash of the fileStream.
                            byte[] hashValue = mySHA256.ComputeHash(fileStream);
                            // Write the name and hash value of the file to the console.
                            Console.Write($"{fInfo.Name}: ");
                            PrintByteArray(hashValue);
                        }
                        catch (IOException e)
                        {
                            Console.WriteLine($"I/O Exception: {e.Message}");
                        }
                        catch (UnauthorizedAccessException e)
                        {
                            Console.WriteLine($"Access Exception: {e.Message}");
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        else
        {
            Console.WriteLine("The directory specified could not be found.");
        }
    }

    // Display the byte array in a readable format.
    public static void PrintByteArray(byte[] array)
    {
        for (int i = 0; i < array.Length; i++)
        {
            Console.Write($"{array[i]:X2}");
            if ((i % 4) == 3) Console.Write(" ");
        }
        Console.WriteLine();
    }
}

Applies to

.NET 9 and other versions
Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1

ComputeHash(Byte[], Int32, Int32)

Source:
HashAlgorithm.cs
Source:
HashAlgorithm.cs
Source:
HashAlgorithm.cs

Computes the hash value for the specified region of the specified byte array.

C#
public byte[] ComputeHash(byte[] buffer, int offset, int count);

Parameters

buffer
Byte[]

The input to compute the hash code for.

offset
Int32

The offset into the byte array from which to begin using data.

count
Int32

The number of bytes in the array to use as data.

Returns

Byte[]

The computed hash code.

Exceptions

count is an invalid value.

-or-

buffer length is invalid.

buffer is null.

offset is out of range. This parameter requires a non-negative number.

The object has already been disposed.

Applies to

.NET 9 and other versions
Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1