What is an SHA1 file? An SHA1 file contains an SHA-1 hash created by sha1sum (or another SHA-1 hash generation program). The hash consists of a unique series of numbers and letters generated using the Secure Hash Algorithm 1 (SHA-1) hash function. SHA1 files are used to verify files' integrity.

More Information SHA1 file open in Microsoft Visual Studio Code When hosting a file for download, users sometimes also provide an accompanying SHA1 file. This file contains a hash that can be used to verify the downloaded file has not been corrupted or tampered with during the download process. After downloading a file that comes with a corresponding SHA1 file, you should run the file through sha1sum to generate a hash. (Sha1sum is installed by default on most Linux distributions and also available for macOS and Windows.) If sha1sum produces the same hash stored in your SHA1 file, the downloaded file's integrity is intact, and it is likely safe to use.