Base64 Encoder/Decoder
Encode or decode text to and from Base64 format.
How to use
Paste your text and click 'Encode to Base64' to convert it, or paste a Base64 string and click 'Decode from Base64' to get the original text back. The swap button lets you feed the output back in as input for a quick round-trip check.
- Paste plain text into the input to encode it, or paste a Base64 string to decode it.
- Click 'Encode to Base64' or 'Decode from Base64' depending on what you're starting with.
- Use the swap button to feed the output back in as input for a round-trip check.
- Copy the result to your clipboard.
About Base64 Encoder/Decoder
Base64 Encoder/Decoder converts text to and from Base64, a way of representing binary-safe data as plain ASCII text. It's commonly used for embedding data in places that only accept text — email attachments, data URIs, and API authentication headers, among others.
Base64 Isn't Encryption
Base64 is sometimes mistaken for a security measure because the output looks unreadable at a glance. It isn't one — Base64 is a reversible encoding, not encryption. Anyone can decode a Base64 string back to its original form in one step, with no key or password required. Its purpose is representing binary-safe data as plain text, not hiding information.
Where Base64 Is Actually Used
Base64 shows up wherever binary or arbitrary data needs to travel through a system that only reliably handles text — the payload portion of a JWT, a small image or font embedded directly in CSS or HTML as a data URI, or an attachment encoded for inclusion in an email's plain-text body. In each case, the goal is compatibility with a text-only channel, not confidentiality.
Common Use Cases
- Decoding a Base64-encoded JWT payload or API auth header to inspect its contents.
- Preparing a small data URI for embedding directly in HTML or CSS.
- Checking what a Base64 string in a config file or log actually contains.
- Verifying that data survived an encode/decode round-trip unchanged.
Common Mistakes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Base64 the same as encryption?
No. Base64 just re-represents data as text — it provides no confidentiality. Anyone can decode a Base64 string back to its original form instantly.
Why did encoding fail on my text?
This tool uses the browser's built-in Base64 encoder, which works directly only on Latin1 characters. Text containing emoji or non-Latin scripts (Chinese, Arabic, Cyrillic, and similar) will throw an error rather than encode.