MD5

What is MD5?

MD5 Hashes are a Unique ID Code that is generated from the contents of a file. It is a quick way to give a file a "fingerprint" that can be searched for easily. MD5 Hashes allow identical files to be found, even when the file name or other external details are unknown or lost.

MD5 Hashes also allow for quick searching of images between sites. The MD5 Hash for an image on one site will be the same for that file on any other site.

Changes to internal details such as the content of the file, or embedded metadata, will change the resulting MD5 Hash / Fingerprint.

Stored MD5 Hashes

MD5 Hashes for each submission on Inkbunny are listed with other submission details underneath the submission description.

MD5 data is also listed per submission as part of the Submission Details interface of the Inkbunny API.

Four MD5 Hashes are stored for each submission on Inkbunny:

Initial - The MD5 Hash of the file as it was first uploaded to Inkbunny, before any conversion or removal of metadata took place.

Full - The MD5 Hash of the "Full Size" version of the image. This is usually identical to the Initial image but may have been optimised for lossless compression and extra metadata is removed. This means the MD5 Hash for Full and Initial versions is almost always different.

Large - The MD5 Hash of the Large (also known as Screen) size image. This is the Full version resized to fit the Inkbunny site layout, so usually no larger than 950px x 950px.

Small - The MD5 Hash of the Small size image. This is the image reduced to a preview size.

The following are only visible to the submission owner, but can still be used by anyone to locate the submission via Search.

Sales/HiRes - Initial - The MD5 Hash of the Sales/HiRes file as it was first uploaded to Inkbunny.

Sales/HiRes - Final - The MD5 Hash of the Sales/HiRes file after any conversion or optimisation by Inkbunny.

Search by MD5

To search MD5 Hashes on Inkbunny, you can go to the Search page and enter the MD5 Hash in to the Text Field there. Multiple MD5 Hashes can be searched at once by separating them with spaces. You must select "MD5 Hash" as one of the search fields in the tickboxes below the text field.

Notes:

• Deleted Files - This search will also find submissions based the MD5 of free and sales files that are marked deleted (that have been removed from a submission). This is to assist with finding submissions even if their files are updated later.
• Although the MD5 Hash for the HiRes/Sales file is only shown to the Submission owner, they are still found when anyone runs an MD5 search.

The Inkbunny API also allows searching for MD5 Hashes in the API Search interface.

More Info

To read more about the technical aspects of MD5, check out the MD5 article on Wikipedia.