---
page_title: sha256 function reference
description: |-
  The `sha256` function computes the SHA256 hash of a given string and encodes it
  with hexadecimal digits. Learn how to use the `sha256` function in Packer templates. 
---

# `sha256` Function

`sha256` computes the SHA256 hash of a given string and encodes it with
hexadecimal digits.

The given string is first encoded as UTF-8 and then the SHA256 algorithm is applied
as defined in [RFC 4634](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4634). The raw hash is
then encoded to lowercase hexadecimal digits before returning.

## Examples

```shell-session
> sha256("hello world")
b94d27b9934d3e08a52e52d7da7dabfac484efe37a5380ee9088f7ace2efcde9
```
