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HashAgent Pro — Documentation

Professional File Hash Comparison Tool for macOS

Overview

HashAgent Pro is a professional macOS application for comparing files across multiple sources using cryptographic hash functions. Instead of visually comparing files or relying on names and dates, HashAgent Pro computes a unique fingerprint (hash) for each file and compares those fingerprints across up to 10 independent panels.

This approach guarantees byte-level accuracy: two files with identical hashes are guaranteed to have identical content, regardless of their names, modification dates, or locations. Two files with different hashes are guaranteed to differ.

One-time purchase. HashAgent Pro has no subscriptions, no in-app purchases, and no recurring charges. All processing happens locally on your Mac — no internet connection is required.

Interface Overview

The HashAgent Pro interface has three main areas:

  • Toolbar — at the top: algorithm selector, panel count selector (1–10), filter buttons (All / Match / Diff / Unique), and search field.
  • Panels — the main area. Each panel shows a file list with names, hashes, sizes, modification dates, and thumbnail previews. The panel header shows the source path and file statistics.
  • Panel Footer — at the bottom of each panel: Copy Names, Copy Hashes, Copy Names & Hashes buttons, an Export menu, and the total size of files in that panel.

While hashing is in progress, a status bar appears below the toolbar showing the current operation and a cancel button.

Importing Files

Drag & Drop

Drag any file or folder directly onto a panel. If you drop a folder, HashAgent Pro recursively scans all subfolders and loads every file automatically. Dragging multiple items at once is supported.

When you drop a folder with a common root path, the panel header displays the shared root with /* to indicate recursive content (e.g. /Users/you/Desktop/Files1/*).

Import Button

Click the Import button in the panel header to open a file picker. You can select individual files or entire folders. The import is additive — existing files in the panel are kept, and newly selected files are added.

Clearing a Panel

Click the Clear button in the panel header to remove all files from that panel. If the panel contains files, you will be asked to confirm before clearing.

Supported File Types

HashAgent Pro can hash any file type — documents, images, videos, archives, executables, disk images, or any other binary or text file. There is no file type restriction.

Panels

HashAgent Pro supports 1 to 10 panels simultaneously, all within a single window. Use the panel count buttons in the toolbar to switch between layouts. For most workflows, 2–4 panels are sufficient; additional panels are designed for wide-display setups.

Layout Best For
1 Panel Generating and exporting hash manifests for a single file set. No cross-panel comparison.
2 Panels Classic source-vs-destination comparison. Find what's different, missing, or identical between two locations. The most common setup.
3–4 Panels Compare multiple backups or build artifacts simultaneously. Covers the vast majority of professional workflows.
5–10 Panels Large-scale audits on wide displays. Compare many sources at once without switching views.
Reducing the panel count will close the extra panel(s). You will be asked to confirm if those panels contain files.
Resource usage scales with panel count. Each additional panel loads and hashes its own set of files independently. Opening many panels with large file sets requires proportionally more CPU and RAM. If you notice slowdowns, consider reducing the number of open panels or using a lower-concurrency setting in Settings → General.

Panel Header Statistics

Each panel header shows a summary row with:

  • Total file count and total size
  • Number of files with Match status (green dot)
  • Number of files with Diff status (orange dot)
  • Number of files with Unique status (red dot)

Sort Order

Click the Sort by menu in the panel header to sort files by name (A→Z or Z→A) or by size.

Hashing

Auto-Calculate

When Auto-Calculate is enabled (default), HashAgent Pro starts hashing immediately after files are imported. You can disable this in Settings → General to hash manually by clicking the hash button.

Performance

Files smaller than 10 MB are read entirely into memory for maximum speed. Larger files are processed in 1 MB chunks using streaming, which keeps memory usage low regardless of file size. All hashing runs in parallel across available CPU cores.

Cancellation

Click Cancel in the hashing status bar to stop an in-progress hash operation. Already-hashed files retain their results.

Concurrency

In Settings → General, you can set the hashing concurrency: Auto (recommended, uses available CPU cores) or a specific number of concurrent threads.

File Thumbnails

HashAgent Pro can generate visual previews (thumbnails) for images, videos, PDFs, and other supported file types directly in the file list. Thumbnails can be enabled or disabled in Settings → General.

Thumbnails are resource-intensive. Generating previews — especially for video files or very large file sets — places a significant additional load on the CPU and memory. On less powerful machines this may noticeably affect responsiveness. If you experience slowdowns, consider disabling thumbnails in Settings.

Filters & Search

Filter Buttons

The toolbar contains four filter buttons that apply to all panels simultaneously:

Filter Shows
All Every file in every panel, regardless of comparison status.
Match Files whose hash exists identically in at least one other panel.
Diff Files that appear by name in multiple panels but have different hashes (modified or corrupted).
Unique Files that exist in only one panel — present on one side but missing on the other(s).

Search

The search field in the toolbar filters files by name across all panels simultaneously. The filter is case-insensitive and updates in real time as you type.

How Comparison Works

After hashing is complete, HashAgent Pro compares each file's hash across all loaded panels. Comparison is based purely on hash values — file names are not used for matching.

Each file receives one of three statuses:

  • Match (green) — the same hash exists in at least one other panel. The files are byte-for-byte identical.
  • Diff (orange) — a file with the same name exists in another panel, but the hashes differ. The files have been modified.
  • Unique (red) — the file exists in only this panel. There is no corresponding file in any other panel.
Comparison results update automatically when you add or remove files, change the algorithm, or switch panel count.

Hash Algorithms

HashAgent Pro supports a wide range of hash algorithms. Select the active algorithm from the toolbar dropdown — it applies to all panels simultaneously and triggers a re-hash of all loaded files.

Algorithm Output Size Notes
MD5 Deprecated 128-bit Fast. Cryptographically broken — use for legacy compatibility only. Not suitable for security purposes.
SHA-1 Deprecated 160-bit Deprecated — collision attacks exist. Shown with warning. Use for compatibility with older systems only.
SHA-224 224-bit SHA-2 family variant with a shorter digest than SHA-256.
SHA-256 Recommended 256-bit Industry standard. Excellent balance of security and speed. Default algorithm.
SHA-384 384-bit Higher security than SHA-256. Part of the SHA-2 family.
SHA-512 512-bit Maximum SHA-2 security. Suitable for archival and high-security use.
SHA-512/256 256-bit SHA-2 family, resistant to length-extension attacks.
SHA-3 (224/256/384/512) up to 512-bit NIST's SHA-3 family, based on the Keccak sponge construction. A structurally different design from SHA-2 for defense-in-depth.
Keccak up to 512-bit The original Keccak algorithm that SHA-3 is based on, using the original padding. Use when compatibility with pre-standardization Keccak output is required.
BLAKE2b-256 256-bit Faster than SHA-256 with equivalent security. Excellent choice for large-scale comparisons.
BLAKE2b-512 512-bit High-security BLAKE2b variant. Faster than SHA-512.
BLAKE3 256-bit The fastest cryptographic algorithm available. Highly parallelizable. Recommended for very large files or folders.
Whirlpool 512-bit ISO/IEC-standardized cryptographic hash based on a substantially modified AES design. Used for high-assurance archival scenarios.
RIPEMD-160 160-bit ISO/IEC-standardized cryptographic hash, still used in some legacy systems.
SM3 256-bit Cryptographic hash used for compatibility with certain regional standards and systems.
Streebog-256 256-bit Cryptographic hash used for compatibility with certain regional standards and systems.
Streebog-512 512-bit Cryptographic hash used for compatibility with certain regional standards and systems.
xxHash 32/64-bit Extremely fast non-cryptographic hash. Ideal for quickly comparing very large numbers of files where cryptographic strength isn't required.
XXH3 64/128-bit Newer, even faster xxHash variant.
CRC16 16-bit Simple checksum. Not cryptographic — used for compatibility with legacy tools.
CRC32 32-bit Simple checksum. Not cryptographic — use for quick integrity checks or compatibility with legacy tools.
CRC32C 32-bit CRC32 variant using the Castagnoli polynomial. Not cryptographic.
CRC64 64-bit Improved checksum over CRC32 with lower collision probability. Not cryptographic.
MurmurHash3 32/128-bit Fast non-cryptographic hash. Not cryptographic.
FNV-1 / FNV-1a 32/64-bit Simple, fast non-cryptographic hash. Not cryptographic.
SipHash 64-bit Fast hash resistant to hash-flooding attacks. Not cryptographic in the general sense.
FarmHash64 64-bit Fast non-cryptographic hash for large data. Not cryptographic.
Which algorithm should I use? For most use cases, SHA-256 is the right choice. For the fastest comparison of large file sets, use BLAKE3. For archival or high-security use, use SHA-512. Use MD5 or SHA-1 only when the system you're comparing with requires it.

Manifest Verification

Export file hashes from a panel as a manifest, then use it later to check what changed — even after the original files are gone. This is the workflow for verifying backups and archives over time.

Exporting a Manifest

Any export from a panel can serve as a manifest. Supported manifest formats are CSV, JSON, YAML, XML, hashmanifest, SHA256, and other common checksum formats.

Verification Mode

Import a manifest to enter Verification Mode, then link it to a folder. HashAgent Pro re-hashes that folder and reports every file with one of four statuses:

Status Meaning
Unchanged The file's hash still matches the manifest.
Modified The file exists but its hash no longer matches the manifest.
Missing The file is listed in the manifest but no longer exists in the folder.
New The file exists in the folder but is not listed in the manifest.

Quick Verify vs. Full Verification

Quick Verify skips re-hashing files whose size and modification date still match the manifest, making re-checks much faster on large folders. Full hash verification re-hashes every file and catches changes that a size/date check would miss.

Archival use. A saved manifest lets you re-verify a backup or archive later, even when the original source files are no longer available — link the manifest directly to the backup folder.

Export & Copy

Each panel's footer provides several ways to get your data out of HashAgent Pro:

Copy to Clipboard

Button Copies
Copy Names File names only, one per line.
Copy Hashes Hash values only, one per line.
Copy Names & Hashes Tab-separated pairs of filename and hash, one per line.

Export to File

Click the Export button to save panel results to a file. The following formats are supported:

Format Best For
CSV Spreadsheets, Excel, Google Sheets, scripting
JSON APIs, developer tools, further processing
XML Enterprise systems, structured data interchange
YAML Configuration files, CI/CD pipelines
Parquet Data pipelines, analytics tools, large datasets
hashmanifest / SHA256 / checksum formats Manifest verification, compatibility with standard checksum tools
Export includes only the files currently visible in the panel (respecting the active filter and search query). Switch to All filter and clear the search field to export all files.
CSV, JSON, YAML, XML, hashmanifest, and checksum exports can be re-imported later as a verification manifest. Parquet exports are for data analysis and cannot be re-imported as a manifest.

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