Digest Header

Table of Content

• Syntax
• Directives
• Examples
• Browser Compatibility
• How to modify Digest header The Digest Header in HTTP is used to provide a cryptographic checksum of the message content. Its primary purpose is to protect against manipulation of the data during transmission by ensuring data integrity and allowing the client and server to verify the message's authenticity.

Syntax

Digest: <algorithm>=<checksum_value>Copy

where <algorithm> refers to the cryptographic algorithm used to generate the checksum and <checksum_value> is the resulting value generated by the algorithm.

Directives

There are main directives for the Digest header:

• algorithm: Defines the cryptographic algorithm used to generate the checksum.
• checksum_value: The calculated value using the given algorithm.

Examples

An example of how to use the Digest header could look like this:

Digest: SHA-256=X48E9qOokqqrvdts8nOJRJN3OWDUoyWxBf7kbu9DBPE=Copy

This example implies that the SHA-256 algorithm is used to compute the checksum value.

Browser Compatibility

How to modify Digest header

ModHeader is a Chrome extension that allows you to modify HTTP request headers. You use it to change the Digest header by following these steps:

1. Click on the ModHeader icon in the toolbar
2. In the "Request headers" section, click "Add"
3. In the "Name" field, enter Digest
4. In the "Value" field, enter <algorithm>=<checksum_value>, replacing <algorithm> and <checksum_value> with the specific algorithm and checksum value you want to use.

This tool is incredibly useful because it allows you to test how your web application handles different Digest headers, which is particularly important for developing applications that rely on secure data transmission.