How to Use This Tool
To Encode: Type or paste your plain text into the top box and click the "ENCODE" button. The Base64 result will appear in the bottom box.
To Decode: Paste your Base64 string into the bottom box and click the "DECODE" button. The original plain text will appear in the top box.
What is Base64 Encoding?
Base64 is a binary-to-text encoding scheme that represents binary data in an ASCII string format by translating it into a radix-64 representation. The term Base64 originates from a specific MIME content transfer encoding. It's designed to carry data stored in binary formats across channels that only reliably support text content.
It is called "Base64" because it uses a set of 64 characters to represent the data. These characters are A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and the symbols '+' and '/'. Sometimes the '=' character is used for padding at the end of the encoded data.
Why is Base64 Used?
Embedding Data:
The most common use case is embedding binary data, like images, directly into HTML or CSS files using Data URIs. This avoids the need for separate file requests. For example: data:image/png;base64,...
Email Attachments:
Base64 is used to encode binary file attachments for email. The SMTP protocol, which handles email transport, is primarily text-based, so attachments must be encoded into a text format to ensure they are transmitted without corruption.
APIs and JSON:
When you need to transmit binary data (like a file or an image) within a text-based format like JSON or XML, you must first encode it into a string. Base64 is the standard for this purpose, ensuring the data remains intact during transmission.
Base64 FAQ
Is Base64 an encryption?
No, Base64 is not encryption. It is an encoding. It provides no security or privacy, as anyone can decode it if they know it's Base64 encoded. It is only used for the safe transport of data, not for protecting it.
Is this tool secure?
Yes. All encoding and decoding happens 100% locally in your browser using JavaScript. No data is ever sent to our server, ensuring your information remains private.