Encoding & Hashing

Encoding & Hashing

base64, md5sum, sha1sum, sha256sum, and file for encoding, integrity checking, and file type detection.

---

base64

Encode or decode data in Base64 format.

base64 [OPTIONS] [FILE]

Flags

Flag	Description
-d, --decode	Decode Base64 input back to original data
-w NUM, --wrap=NUM	Wrap encoded output at NUM columns (default: 76, 0 = no wrap)

Return Type

Returns a PsBash.TextOutput object with the encoded or decoded string as BashText.

Examples

Encode a string from the pipeline:

echo 'hello' | base64

aGVsbG8K

Decode a Base64 string:

echo 'aGVsbG8K' | base64 -d

hello

Encode a file:

base64 image.png

Encode without line wrapping:

echo 'a longer string that would normally wrap' | base64 -w 0

Decode a Base64 file:

base64 -d encoded.txt

---

md5sum

Compute MD5 message digest for files or pipeline input.

md5sum [OPTIONS] [FILE...]

Flags

Flag	Description
-c, --check	Read checksums from file and verify them
-b, --binary	Read files in binary mode

TextOutput Properties

Each result is a PsBash.TextOutput object:

Property	Type	Description
Hash	string	Hex-encoded MD5 digest
FileName	string	Path to the hashed file, or - for pipeline input
Algorithm	string	MD5
BashText	string	Formatted hash filename output

Examples

Hash a file:

md5sum README.md

d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e  README.md

Hash multiple files:

md5sum file1.txt file2.txt

098f6bcd4621d373cade4e832627b4f6  file1.txt
ad0234829205b9033196ba818f7a872b  file2.txt

Hash pipeline input:

echo 'data' | md5sum

8d777f385d3dfec8815d20f7496026dc  -

Access the hash property directly:

$result = md5sum README.md
$result.Hash        # "d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e"
$result.Algorithm   # "MD5"

---

sha1sum

Compute SHA-1 message digest for files or pipeline input. Same interface as md5sum.

sha1sum [OPTIONS] [FILE...]

Flags

Flag	Description
-c, --check	Read checksums from file and verify them
-b, --binary	Read files in binary mode

TextOutput Properties

Each result is a PsBash.TextOutput object:

Property	Type	Description
Hash	string	Hex-encoded SHA-1 digest
FileName	string	Path to the hashed file, or - for pipeline input
Algorithm	string	SHA1
BashText	string	Formatted hash filename output

Examples

Hash a file:

sha1sum README.md

da39a3ee5e6b4b0d3255bfef95601890afd80709  README.md

Hash from pipeline:

echo 'data' | sha1sum

a17c9aaa61e80a1bf71d0d850af4e5baa9800bbd  -

Use the typed properties:

$result = sha1sum config.yml
$result.Hash       # hex digest string
$result.FileName   # "config.yml"

---

sha256sum

Compute SHA-256 message digest for files or pipeline input. Same interface as md5sum.

sha256sum [OPTIONS] [FILE...]

Flags

Flag	Description
-c, --check	Read checksums from file and verify them
-b, --binary	Read files in binary mode

TextOutput Properties

Each result is a PsBash.TextOutput object:

Property	Type	Description
Hash	string	Hex-encoded SHA-256 digest
FileName	string	Path to the hashed file, or - for pipeline input
Algorithm	string	SHA256
BashText	string	Formatted hash filename output

Examples

Hash a file:

sha256sum README.md

e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855  README.md

Hash pipeline input:

echo 'data' | sha256sum

b8e2f6eb2098b6d0fcbabf2db0b3b5e24bfe7b6eab9a573ae322e4f0a7c17e3c  -

Compare checksums programmatically:

$expected = 'e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855'
$actual = (sha256sum README.md).Hash
$expected -eq $actual   # True

Tip

All three checksum commands — md5sum, sha1sum, and sha256sum — share the same interface and return the same TextOutput structure. The only differences are the Algorithm property and the hash length.

---

file

Determine the type of a file by inspecting its contents (magic bytes).

file [OPTIONS] FILE...

Flags

Flag	Description
-b, --brief	Omit the filename prefix from output
-i, --mime	Output MIME type instead of human-readable description
-L, --dereference	Follow symbolic links (accepted for compatibility)

Detected File Types

Type	Magic Bytes	Description	MIME Type
PNG	89 50 4E 47	PNG image data	image/png
JPEG	FF D8	JPEG image data	image/jpeg
PDF	25 50 44 46	PDF document	application/pdf
ZIP	50 4B 03 04	Zip archive data	application/zip
ELF	7F 45 4C 46	ELF executable	application/x-executable
GIF	47 49 46 38	GIF image data	image/gif
RIFF	52 49 46 46	RIFF data	application/octet-stream
Text	(no binary bytes)	ASCII text	text/plain

Files that match no magic signature and contain binary bytes are reported as data with MIME type application/octet-stream.

TextOutput Properties

Each result is a PsBash.TextOutput object:

Property	Type	Description
FileName	string	Path to the inspected file
FileType	string	Human-readable type description
MimeType	string	MIME type string
BashText	string	Formatted output string

Examples

Detect file type:

file image.png

image.png: PNG image data

Brief output (no filename):

file -b image.png

PNG image data

MIME type output:

file -i document.pdf

document.pdf: application/pdf

Combine brief and MIME:

file -bi archive.zip

application/zip

Check multiple files:

file script.ps1 photo.jpg data.bin

script.ps1: ASCII text
photo.jpg: JPEG image data
data.bin: data

Access typed properties:

$info = file image.png
$info.FileType   # "PNG image data"
$info.MimeType   # "image/png"