Derived locally — your password never leaves the device. scrypt support is planned as a future addition.
About PBKDF2 Key Derivation Generator (SHA-256)
PBKDF2 (Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2) stretches a password and salt into a fixed-length cryptographic key by hashing them together thousands of times. The deliberate slowness is the point: it makes brute-force and dictionary attacks far more expensive, which is why PBKDF2 is used for encryption keys, password storage, and matching server-side derivations.
This free PBKDF2 key-derivation tool runs entirely in your browser using the Web Crypto API. Pick a hash (SHA-1, SHA-256, or SHA-512), set the iteration count, salt, and key length, and read off the derived key in hex. Your password and salt are never uploaded — every derivation happens locally on your device.
Features
- Derive keys with PBKDF2 over SHA-1, SHA-256, or SHA-512
- Choose iteration count, salt, and key length in bytes
- Hex output you can copy with one click
- Backed by the Web Crypto API — fast and fully offline
How to use
- Enter the password and a salt (use a unique salt per key).
- Pick the hash function, iteration count, and key length.
- Read the derived key in hex and copy it.
Frequently asked questions
How many PBKDF2 iterations should I use?
Use as many as your latency budget allows — higher is stronger. OWASP currently recommends on the order of 600,000 iterations for PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256. Match the exact iteration count, salt, and hash used by the system you are deriving against, or the keys will not line up.
What is the salt for?
The salt is a non-secret, per-key value that ensures the same password produces different keys in different contexts. It defeats precomputed rainbow tables. Use a unique, random salt for each derived key; it can be stored alongside the output.
Is PBKDF2 better than scrypt or Argon2?
PBKDF2 is widely supported and built into the Web Crypto API, but it is only CPU-hard. scrypt and Argon2 are also memory-hard, which makes them more resistant to GPU and ASIC attacks. Prefer Argon2 or scrypt for new password storage where available; scrypt support is planned as a future addition to this tool.
Does my password leave the browser?
No. The derivation runs locally via the Web Crypto API. Nothing you type is sent to a server, so you can use the tool offline.
Related tools
Everything runs locally in your browser — your input is never uploaded.