Shape · IDs and hashing

Hash

Replaces a column, or adds a new one, with its MD5, SHA-1 or SHA-256 hash. Use it to hide personal data such as emails, or to build a stable ID.

Also known as: Anonymize, pseudonymize

How it works

Pick the Column and an Algorithm: md5, sha1 or sha256 (default). The digest is lowercase hex over the value's text form, so numbers and dates can be hashed too. NULL stays NULL. Leave Output column blank to replace the column in place, which is how you pseudonymize it, or name a new column to keep the original next to the hash. The same input always gives the same digest, so hashes can be joined across runs and files.

Inputs and outputs

Settings

{
  column: string
  algorithm: "md5"|"sha1"|"sha256"
  outputColumn?: string
}

Example

Share an orders table without exposing addresses: column email, algorithm sha256, output blank. The table keeps one stable id per customer, and nobody can read the address back from it.

More in IDs and hashing

• Row Hash — Combines several columns into one fingerprint per row. Compare fingerprints between two loads to spot the rows that changed.
• Surrogate Key — Gives each distinct key a compact ID: a hash that stays the same across runs, or a number from 1 to N.
• UUID — Adds a random unique ID to every row. The IDs change on every run; use Surrogate Key when they must stay stable.