Ciphers · Keys · Hashes

Cryptography Explorer

Encrypt / Hash Learn Cryptography

Hash function · FIPS 180-4

SHA-256 — every bit, every round.

Type a message and watch it become a 256-bit fingerprint: converted to binary, padded, sliced into blocks, expanded into a message schedule, then folded through 64 rounds of compression. You drive: advance the deck one card at a time with Next and read what each step does — or press ▶ Play to run it start to finish, slowed down, with a speed control.

Up to 96 characters — 56 or more gives you two blocks, worth seeing. Advance with next →| (or the → key): it finishes the current card’s animation, then moves on. replay ↩ reruns a card; ← steps back; space plays/pauses. The scrubber lets you drag to any step.

Message

About this project

Hey—we're Sean and Derek.

Cryptography Explorer is meant to make the invisible visible: the encryption and hashing algorithms you trust every day, run live on your own input, slowed down far enough to actually understand.

It grew out of two terminal animations we used as teaching aids — Greg Walker's wonderful SHA-256 Animation (MIT licensed) and a companion RSA animation built in its spirit by AG1 Derek Conklin. The web gave us room those terminals never had: richer explanations at every step, a scrubbable timeline, and animations you can rewind.

Creators LT Sean Egan, PhD & AG1 Derek Conklin

United States Navy · A partnership building learning tools for our METOC, space, cyber, and cryptologic colleagues.

sean@theinformed.org

Independent educational project, built by us on our own time. The views expressed here are ours alone and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Navy, the Department of War / Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government, nor do we represent them. This site is intended for learning, not operations — do not use it for operational decisions; use it at your own risk. The algorithms here use deliberately tiny numbers and simplified (unpadded) constructions so every value stays readable. They are teaching toys: never use them to protect real secrets.