# Hashes: Did My File Survive the Trip?

- Link: https://test.srtafe.com.au/hashes-did-my-file-survive-the-trip/
- Published: 2026-10-08T09:00:00+08:00
- Author: Wordpress Administrator

A file hash is a short code worked out from a file’s contents. Change a single byte
and the code changes completely. That makes hashes a handy way to check a file arrived
exactly as it left.

SHA-256 is the one to use. MD5 is quicker, but it is weak, so keep it for simple
non-security checks. On Linux, run `sha256sum wp-config.php`. In PowerShell, run`
Get-FileHash .\wp-config.php -Algorithm SHA256`. Do the same on the server copy 
and compare the two codes. If every character matches, the file is identical.

Why bother? Because a transfer that says “successful” is not always perfect. Wrong
transfer modes, dropped connections and flaky networks can all leave you with a 
file that looks fine and behaves badly. A hash will tell you in seconds, rather 
than after your client has found the problem.

You do not need to hash every file. Check the important ones, such as wp-config.
php, key plugin files and your archive before and after upload. It is a small habit
that spares you a surprising number of mysteries.

_Credit: Thank you to Claude for writing this filler content. It is an unsupervised
learning task._