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[](https://github.com/multiformats/multiformats/)
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[](https://crates.io/crates/multi-hash)
[](https://docs.rs/multi-hash)
# multi-hash
Rust implementation of the [Multihash](https://github.com/multiformats/multihash) specification for self-describing cryptographic hash digests.
Multihash is a self-describing format. It pairs a hash algorithm identifier (a multicodec tag) with the raw digest bytes. This lets systems switch hash algorithms without a break in compatibility. The crate gives 23 supported hash algorithms, type-safe wrappers, serde integration, and multibase encoding via the `multi-util` crate stack.
## Table of Contents
- [Features](#features)
- [Install](#install)
- [Supported Algorithms](#supported-algorithms)
- [Usage](#usage)
- [Computing a Hash](#computing-a-hash)
- [Building from an Existing Digest](#building-from-an-existing-digest)
- [Encoding and Decoding](#encoding-and-decoding)
- [Base Encoding](#base-encoding)
- [Converting to EncodedMultihash](#converting-to-encodedmultihash)
- [Serde Integration](#serde-integration)
- [Error Handling](#error-handling)
- [Type-Safe Newtypes](#type-safe-newtypes)
- [Testing](#testing)
- [Feature Flags](#feature-flags)
- [Security](#security)
- [Maintainers](#maintainers)
- [Contribute](#contribute)
- [License](#license)
## Features
- 23 hash algorithms. SHA1, SHA2 family, SHA3 family, Blake2, Blake3, MD5, RIPEMD.
- Builder pattern. A fluent API to create multihashes from raw data or existing digests.
- Multibase encoding. The `EncodedMultihash` smart pointer gives a base-encoded string representation via `BaseEncoded` from `multi-util`.
- Serde support. JSON gives the codec name string. Binary gives the varint bytes. The `serde` feature gates it.
- Binary round-trip. `Into<Vec<u8>>` and `TryFrom<&[u8]>` for the raw wire format.
- Type-safe newtypes. `HashDigest` and `AlgorithmId` wrappers.
- Zero unsafe code. `#![deny(unsafe_code)]` is set at the crate root.
- Thread-safe. All types are `Send + Sync`.
## Install
Add this to your `Cargo.toml`:
```toml
[dependencies]
multi-hash = "1.0"
```
To disable serde support:
```toml
[dependencies]
multi-hash = { version = "1.0", default-features = false }
```
MSRV: Rust 1.85 (Edition 2024).
## Supported Algorithms
### Secure algorithms (recommended for cryptographic use)
| Blake2b-256 | `Blake2B256` | 32 bytes |
| Blake2b-384 | `Blake2B384` | 48 bytes |
| Blake2b-512 | `Blake2B512` | 64 bytes |
| Blake2s-256 | `Blake2S256` | 32 bytes |
| Blake3 | `Blake3` | 32 bytes |
| SHA3-256 | `Sha3256` | 32 bytes |
| SHA3-384 | `Sha3384` | 48 bytes |
| SHA3-512 | `Sha3512` | 64 bytes |
See [`SAFE_HASH_CODECS`](https://docs.rs/multi-hash/latest/multi_hash/constant.SAFE_HASH_CODECS.html) for the constant array.
### Legacy algorithms (for compatibility)
| SHA1 | `Sha1` | 20 bytes |
| SHA2-224 | `Sha2224` | 28 bytes |
| SHA2-256 | `Sha2256` | 32 bytes |
| SHA2-384 | `Sha2384` | 48 bytes |
| SHA2-512 | `Sha2512` | 64 bytes |
| SHA2-512/224 | `Sha2512224` | 28 bytes |
| SHA2-512/256 | `Sha2512256` | 32 bytes |
| Blake2b-224 | `Blake2B224` | 28 bytes |
| Blake2s-224 | `Blake2S224` | 28 bytes |
| MD5 | `Md5` | 16 bytes |
| RIPEMD-128 | `Ripemd128` | 16 bytes |
| RIPEMD-160 | `Ripemd160` | 20 bytes |
| RIPEMD-256 | `Ripemd256` | 32 bytes |
| RIPEMD-320 | `Ripemd320` | 40 bytes |
| SHA3-224 | `Sha3224` | 28 bytes |
See [`HASH_CODECS`](https://docs.rs/multi-hash/latest/multi_hash/constant.HASH_CODECS.html) for the constant array of all 23 supported codecs.
## Usage
### Computing a Hash
```rust
use multi_hash::Builder;
use multi_codec::Codec;
// Compute a SHA2-256 hash
let multihash = Builder::new_from_bytes(Codec::Sha2256, b"hello world")
.unwrap()
.try_build()
.unwrap();
assert_eq!(multihash.codec(), Codec::Sha2256);
assert_eq!(multihash.as_ref().len(), 32); // SHA2-256 outputs 32 bytes
```
### Building from an Existing Digest
If you already have a hash digest, for example from an external hashing library:
```rust
use multi_hash::Builder;
use multi_codec::Codec;
let digest = vec![0u8; 32]; // pre-computed SHA2-256 digest
let multihash = Builder::new(Codec::Sha2256)
.with_hash(digest)
.try_build()
.unwrap();
```
### Encoding and Decoding
Multihashes encode as `codec || length || hash` (varint-prefixed):
```rust
use multi_hash::{Builder, Multihash};
use multi_codec::Codec;
let mh1 = Builder::new_from_bytes(Codec::Sha2256, b"data")
.unwrap()
.try_build()
.unwrap();
// Encode to binary (varint wire format)
let bytes: Vec<u8> = mh1.clone().into();
// Decode from binary
let mh2 = Multihash::try_from(bytes.as_ref()).unwrap();
assert_eq!(mh1, mh2);
```
### Base Encoding
Use `try_build_encoded()` with a specific base. It gives an `EncodedMultihash` that supports `Display` and `TryFrom<&str>`:
```rust
use multi_hash::Builder;
use multi_codec::Codec;
use multi_base::Base;
let encoded = Builder::new_from_bytes(Codec::Sha2256, b"data")
.unwrap()
.with_base_encoding(Base::Base58Btc)
.try_build_encoded()
.unwrap();
// Display as a base58-encoded multihash string
let base58_string = encoded.to_string();
println!("Multihash: {}", base58_string);
// Parse back from string
use multi_hash::EncodedMultihash;
let decoded: EncodedMultihash = EncodedMultihash::try_from(base58_string.as_str()).unwrap();
assert_eq!(encoded, decoded);
```
### Converting to EncodedMultihash
You can convert a `Multihash` to an `EncodedMultihash` with `.into()`. The default base is `Base16Lower`. You can also use `EncodedMultihash::new()` with a base of your choice:
```rust
use multi_hash::{Builder, EncodedMultihash};
use multi_base::Base;
use multi_codec::Codec;
let mh = Builder::new_from_bytes(Codec::Sha3384, b"for great justice, move every zig!")
.unwrap()
.try_build()
.unwrap();
// Uses the preferred encoding for multihash objects: Base16Lower
let encoded_mh1: EncodedMultihash = mh.clone().into();
// Or choose a specific base encoding
let encoded_mh2: EncodedMultihash = EncodedMultihash::new(Base::Base32Upper, mh);
```
### Serde Integration
With the `serde` feature on by default, `Multihash` implements `Serialize` and `Deserialize`. Human-readable formats give the codec name and the hex digest. Binary formats give the varint bytes:
```rust
use multi_hash::Builder;
use multi_codec::Codec;
use serde::{Serialize, Deserialize};
#[derive(Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, PartialEq)]
struct DocumentHash {
hash: multi_hash::Multihash,
timestamp: u64,
}
let doc = DocumentHash {
hash: Builder::new_from_bytes(Codec::Sha2256, b"document content")
.unwrap()
.try_build()
.unwrap(),
timestamp: 1234567890,
};
// Serialize to JSON (human-readable - codec name + hex digest)
let json = serde_json::to_string(&doc).unwrap();
println!("{}", json);
// Deserialize from JSON
let deserialized: DocumentHash = serde_json::from_str(&json).unwrap();
assert_eq!(doc, deserialized);
```
### Error Handling
All conversion and builder errors return `Result` with a structured `Error` enum:
```rust
use multi_hash::{Builder, Error};
use multi_codec::Codec;
// Handle unsupported algorithms
match Builder::new_from_bytes(Codec::Identity, b"data") {
Err(Error::UnsupportedHash { codec }) => {
eprintln!("Algorithm {:?} not supported", codec);
}
Err(e) => eprintln!("Other error: {}", e),
Ok(_) => unreachable!(),
}
// Handle missing hash data
match Builder::new(Codec::Sha2256).try_build() {
Err(Error::MissingHash) => {
eprintln!("Must call with_hash() before build()");
}
Err(e) => eprintln!("Other error: {}", e),
Ok(_) => unreachable!(),
}
```
### Type-Safe Newtypes
For more type safety, use the newtype wrappers:
```rust
use multi_hash::types::{HashDigest, AlgorithmId};
use multi_codec::Codec;
// Type-safe hash digest
let digest = HashDigest::new(vec![0u8; 32]);
assert_eq!(digest.len(), 32);
assert_eq!(digest.as_bytes().len(), 32);
// Type-safe algorithm identifier
let algo = AlgorithmId::new(Codec::Sha2256);
assert_eq!(algo.codec(), Codec::Sha2256);
assert_eq!(algo.name(), "sha2-256");
assert_eq!(algo.code(), 0x12);
```
## Testing
The crate has 110 tests across unit, integration, property-based, security, and doc-test suites:
```bash
# Run all tests
cargo test --all-features
# Run specific test suites
cargo test --test edge_case_tests
cargo test --test integration_tests
cargo test --test proptest_tests
cargo test --test security_tests
# Run benchmarks
cargo bench
```
Linting and formatting:
```bash
cargo fmt --check
cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
```
CI collects coverage with `cargo-llvm-cov` and uploads the result to Codecov.
## Feature Flags
- `serde` (default). Enables serde serialization and deserialization. When on, `Multihash` implements `Serialize` and `Deserialize`. Human-readable formats give the codec name and the hex digest. Binary formats give the varint bytes.
### Disabling Default Features
```toml
[dependencies]
multi-hash = { version = "1.0", default-features = false }
```
## Security
- `#![deny(unsafe_code)]` is set at the crate root.
- All errors return `Result`. No path panics on invalid input.
- All types are `Send + Sync` with no shared mutable state.
- Hash computation uses vetted cryptographic libraries from the RustCrypto ecosystem.
- `impl subtle::ConstantTimeEq for Multihash` is available for timing-sensitive comparisons.
- The `Varbytes` decode path enforces a decoded-size cap (16 MiB) and buffer-length checks. This mitigates CWE-400 and CWE-125.
See [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md) for the full security policy.
## Maintainers
This repo: [@dgrantham](https://github.com/dgrantham).
## Contribute
Contributions are welcome. Please check out [the issues](https://github.com/cryptidtech/multi-hash/issues).
### Development Guidelines
- Run `cargo fmt` before you commit.
- Run `cargo clippy -- -D warnings` to check for issues.
- Add tests for new features.
- Update documentation for API changes.
- Run the full test suite: `cargo test --all-features`.
## License
[Apache-2.0](LICENSE) (c) Cryptid Technologies