What is Base64?
Base64 is a way of representing binary or text data using only 64 plain ASCII characters (A–Z, a–z, 0–9, + and /). Because the result contains no special or control characters, it can be safely embedded in places that only accept text — URLs, JSON, XML, data URIs, email attachments and configuration files. Encoding makes data roughly a third larger, but guarantees it survives systems that might otherwise mangle raw bytes.
How to encode or decode
- Choose Encode (text → Base64) or Decode (Base64 → text).
- Type or paste your input.
- The result appears instantly — click Copy result to grab it.
Where you’ll see Base64
- Data URIs: small images embedded directly in HTML or CSS.
- APIs and tokens: the header and payload of a JWT are Base64URL-encoded.
- Email: attachments are Base64-encoded for transport.
- Config & secrets: binary keys stored as text.
Frequently asked questions
Is Base64 encryption? No — it’s encoding, not encryption. Anyone can decode it, so never use it to protect secrets.
Does it handle emojis / non-English text? Yes — encoding and decoding are UTF-8 safe.
Why did decoding fail? The input isn’t valid Base64 — check for missing characters or stray spaces.
Is my data private? Completely — nothing is uploaded; it’s all done in your browser.