crypto-js vs md5 vs js-md5
JavaScript Hashing Libraries Comparison
1 Year
crypto-jsmd5js-md5Similar Packages:
What's JavaScript Hashing Libraries?

Hashing libraries in JavaScript provide developers with tools to create hash values from input data, which is essential for data integrity, security, and efficient data retrieval. These libraries are commonly used for creating checksums, password hashing, and ensuring data consistency across applications. Each library offers different features, performance characteristics, and ease of use, making it important to choose the right one based on specific project requirements.

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crypto-js9,134,03916,101487 kB2762 years agoMIT
md58,879,11791221.4 kB13-BSD-3-Clause
js-md5339,66381651 kB62 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: crypto-js vs md5 vs js-md5

Algorithm Support

  • crypto-js:

    Crypto-JS supports a wide range of cryptographic algorithms, including MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, AES, and more. This versatility makes it suitable for various security needs beyond just hashing, allowing developers to implement encryption and decryption alongside hashing.

  • md5:

    md5 is a minimalistic library that implements the MD5 hashing algorithm. It is designed for simplicity and speed, providing only the essential functionality for generating MD5 hashes without additional features.

  • js-md5:

    js-md5 is focused solely on the MD5 hashing algorithm. It provides a fast and efficient way to generate MD5 hashes but does not support other hashing algorithms or encryption features, making it less versatile than Crypto-JS.

Performance

  • crypto-js:

    Crypto-JS is relatively heavier due to its extensive feature set and support for multiple algorithms. While it is optimized for performance, the overhead of additional functionalities may impact speed in scenarios where only simple hashing is needed.

  • md5:

    md5 offers a very lightweight implementation of the MD5 algorithm, ensuring fast performance with minimal resource usage. It is ideal for applications that require quick hashing without the need for additional features.

  • js-md5:

    js-md5 is optimized for performance, providing fast hashing capabilities specifically for MD5. It is lightweight and designed for quick execution, making it suitable for applications where speed is critical.

Ease of Use

  • crypto-js:

    Crypto-JS has a more complex API due to its wide range of features and algorithms. Developers may need to spend additional time learning how to use the library effectively, especially when dealing with encryption and decryption.

  • md5:

    md5 provides a very simple interface for generating MD5 hashes, making it easy to implement in any project. Its minimalistic design ensures that developers can quickly understand and use the library.

  • js-md5:

    js-md5 has a straightforward API that makes it easy to use for generating MD5 hashes. Its simplicity allows developers to quickly integrate it into their projects without a steep learning curve.

Security Considerations

  • crypto-js:

    Crypto-JS implements various cryptographic standards and practices, making it suitable for applications that require strong security measures. However, developers must ensure they are using secure configurations and algorithms to avoid vulnerabilities.

  • md5:

    Similar to js-md5, the md5 library uses the MD5 algorithm, which is not recommended for security-sensitive applications due to known vulnerabilities. It is best used for non-critical hashing tasks.

  • js-md5:

    While js-md5 is efficient for hashing, MD5 is considered cryptographically broken and unsuitable for security-sensitive applications. It should only be used for non-security purposes, such as checksums or data integrity checks.

Community and Maintenance

  • crypto-js:

    Crypto-JS has a strong community and is actively maintained, ensuring that it stays up to date with the latest cryptographic standards and practices. This makes it a reliable choice for long-term projects.

  • md5:

    The md5 library is simple and has a smaller community. While it serves its purpose well, it may not receive frequent updates or maintenance, so developers should be cautious about using it for long-term projects.

  • js-md5:

    js-md5 is widely used and has a decent community, but it may not be as actively maintained as Crypto-JS. Developers should check for updates and community support when using this library.

How to Choose: crypto-js vs md5 vs js-md5
  • crypto-js:

    Choose Crypto-JS if you need a comprehensive library that supports multiple cryptographic algorithms beyond just hashing, including encryption and decryption functionalities. It is suitable for applications requiring strong security features and various hashing algorithms.

  • md5:

    Choose md5 if you prefer a minimalistic approach and need a straightforward MD5 hashing function without any dependencies. It is suitable for projects where simplicity and direct usage are prioritized.

  • js-md5:

    Choose js-md5 if you specifically need a lightweight and simple implementation for MD5 hashing. It is optimized for performance and is easy to integrate into projects where only MD5 hashing is required without additional overhead.

README for crypto-js

crypto-js

JavaScript library of crypto standards.

Discontinued

Active development of CryptoJS has been discontinued. This library is no longer maintained.

Nowadays, NodeJS and modern browsers have a native Crypto module. The latest version of CryptoJS already uses the native Crypto module for random number generation, since Math.random() is not crypto-safe. Further development of CryptoJS would result in it only being a wrapper of native Crypto. Therefore, development and maintenance has been discontinued, it is time to go for the native crypto module.

Node.js (Install)

Requirements:

  • Node.js
  • npm (Node.js package manager)
npm install crypto-js

Usage

ES6 import for typical API call signing use case:

import sha256 from 'crypto-js/sha256';
import hmacSHA512 from 'crypto-js/hmac-sha512';
import Base64 from 'crypto-js/enc-base64';

const message, nonce, path, privateKey; // ...
const hashDigest = sha256(nonce + message);
const hmacDigest = Base64.stringify(hmacSHA512(path + hashDigest, privateKey));

Modular include:

var AES = require("crypto-js/aes");
var SHA256 = require("crypto-js/sha256");
...
console.log(SHA256("Message"));

Including all libraries, for access to extra methods:

var CryptoJS = require("crypto-js");
console.log(CryptoJS.HmacSHA1("Message", "Key"));

Client (browser)

Requirements:

  • Node.js
  • Bower (package manager for frontend)
bower install crypto-js

Usage

Modular include:

require.config({
    packages: [
        {
            name: 'crypto-js',
            location: 'path-to/bower_components/crypto-js',
            main: 'index'
        }
    ]
});

require(["crypto-js/aes", "crypto-js/sha256"], function (AES, SHA256) {
    console.log(SHA256("Message"));
});

Including all libraries, for access to extra methods:

// Above-mentioned will work or use this simple form
require.config({
    paths: {
        'crypto-js': 'path-to/bower_components/crypto-js/crypto-js'
    }
});

require(["crypto-js"], function (CryptoJS) {
    console.log(CryptoJS.HmacSHA1("Message", "Key"));
});

Usage without RequireJS

<script type="text/javascript" src="path-to/bower_components/crypto-js/crypto-js.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
    var encrypted = CryptoJS.AES(...);
    var encrypted = CryptoJS.SHA256(...);
</script>

API

See: https://cryptojs.gitbook.io/docs/

AES Encryption

Plain text encryption

var CryptoJS = require("crypto-js");

// Encrypt
var ciphertext = CryptoJS.AES.encrypt('my message', 'secret key 123').toString();

// Decrypt
var bytes  = CryptoJS.AES.decrypt(ciphertext, 'secret key 123');
var originalText = bytes.toString(CryptoJS.enc.Utf8);

console.log(originalText); // 'my message'

Object encryption

var CryptoJS = require("crypto-js");

var data = [{id: 1}, {id: 2}]

// Encrypt
var ciphertext = CryptoJS.AES.encrypt(JSON.stringify(data), 'secret key 123').toString();

// Decrypt
var bytes  = CryptoJS.AES.decrypt(ciphertext, 'secret key 123');
var decryptedData = JSON.parse(bytes.toString(CryptoJS.enc.Utf8));

console.log(decryptedData); // [{id: 1}, {id: 2}]

List of modules

  • crypto-js/core
  • crypto-js/x64-core
  • crypto-js/lib-typedarrays

  • crypto-js/md5
  • crypto-js/sha1
  • crypto-js/sha256
  • crypto-js/sha224
  • crypto-js/sha512
  • crypto-js/sha384
  • crypto-js/sha3
  • crypto-js/ripemd160

  • crypto-js/hmac-md5
  • crypto-js/hmac-sha1
  • crypto-js/hmac-sha256
  • crypto-js/hmac-sha224
  • crypto-js/hmac-sha512
  • crypto-js/hmac-sha384
  • crypto-js/hmac-sha3
  • crypto-js/hmac-ripemd160

  • crypto-js/pbkdf2

  • crypto-js/aes
  • crypto-js/tripledes
  • crypto-js/rc4
  • crypto-js/rabbit
  • crypto-js/rabbit-legacy
  • crypto-js/evpkdf

  • crypto-js/format-openssl
  • crypto-js/format-hex

  • crypto-js/enc-latin1
  • crypto-js/enc-utf8
  • crypto-js/enc-hex
  • crypto-js/enc-utf16
  • crypto-js/enc-base64

  • crypto-js/mode-cfb
  • crypto-js/mode-ctr
  • crypto-js/mode-ctr-gladman
  • crypto-js/mode-ofb
  • crypto-js/mode-ecb

  • crypto-js/pad-pkcs7
  • crypto-js/pad-ansix923
  • crypto-js/pad-iso10126
  • crypto-js/pad-iso97971
  • crypto-js/pad-zeropadding
  • crypto-js/pad-nopadding

Release notes

4.2.0

Change default hash algorithm and iteration's for PBKDF2 to prevent weak security by using the default configuration.

Custom KDF Hasher

Blowfish support

4.1.1

Fix module order in bundled release.

Include the browser field in the released package.json.

4.1.0

Added url safe variant of base64 encoding. 357

Avoid webpack to add crypto-browser package. 364

4.0.0

This is an update including breaking changes for some environments.

In this version Math.random() has been replaced by the random methods of the native crypto module.

For this reason CryptoJS might not run in some JavaScript environments without native crypto module. Such as IE 10 or before or React Native.

3.3.0

Rollback, 3.3.0 is the same as 3.1.9-1.

The move of using native secure crypto module will be shifted to a new 4.x.x version. As it is a breaking change the impact is too big for a minor release.

3.2.1

The usage of the native crypto module has been fixed. The import and access of the native crypto module has been improved.

3.2.0

In this version Math.random() has been replaced by the random methods of the native crypto module.

For this reason CryptoJS might does not run in some JavaScript environments without native crypto module. Such as IE 10 or before.

If it's absolute required to run CryptoJS in such an environment, stay with 3.1.x version. Encrypting and decrypting stays compatible. But keep in mind 3.1.x versions still use Math.random() which is cryptographically not secure, as it's not random enough.

This version came along with CRITICAL BUG.

DO NOT USE THIS VERSION! Please, go for a newer version!

3.1.x

The 3.1.x are based on the original CryptoJS, wrapped in CommonJS modules.