HMAC-SHA256
RecommendedHMAC-SHA256 combines SHA-256 with a secret key to produce a keyed hash for message authentication. It verifies both data integrity and authenticity, widely used in APIs, JWTs, and secure communications.
What is HMAC-SHA256?
HMAC-SHA256 is a recommended cryptographic hash algorithm that produces a 256 bits (64 hex characters) output. HMAC-SHA256 combines SHA-256 with a secret key to produce a keyed hash for message authentication. It verifies both data integrity and authenticity, widely used in APIs, JWTs, and secure communications. It is classified as fast in performance and commonly used for api request authentication and signing (aws, stripe, etc.) and jwt (json web token) signing with hs256 algorithm.
Output Length
256 bits (64 hex characters)
Speed
Fast
Security
Recommended
Performance
Same speed as SHA-256 — fast enough for real-time message authentication and API request signing.
Use Cases
- → API request authentication and signing (AWS, Stripe, etc.)
- → JWT (JSON Web Token) signing with HS256 algorithm
- → Message authentication codes in TLS
- → Webhook signature verification
- → Secure cookie signing
Example Hash
Input:
Hello, World! (with key: secret)
HMAC-SHA256 Output:
4822eb3a8339c3dab301166236d0a90b59d737d82b0890a92cf474ed5bb1e53c
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