Encode UTF-8 text to Base64 or decode Base64 locally.
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About Base64 Encoder / Decoder
Encode UTF-8 text to Base64 or decode Base64 back to text. Encoding can use the URL-safe alphabet (- and _ instead of + and /) and can omit = padding; decoding accepts both standard and URL-safe input. If the decoded bytes are not valid UTF-8 text, the tool tells you instead of showing garbled characters; use the Base64 file converter for binary data.
Common uses
- Decode a Base64 value from an API response, config file or HTTP header.
- Build an HTTP Basic Authorization value from user:password.
- Encode text with emoji or non-Latin characters correctly as UTF-8 before Base64.
- Produce unpadded URL-safe Base64 for use in URLs or tokens.
FAQ
- Is Base64 encryption?
- No. Base64 is an encoding that represents bytes using 64 printable characters. Anyone can decode it without a key, so it provides no confidentiality.
- What is the difference between Base64 and Base64URL?
- Base64URL replaces + with - and / with _ so the output is safe in URLs and file names, and it often omits the trailing = padding. JWTs use Base64URL without padding.
- Why is Base64 output larger than the input?
- Base64 encodes every 3 bytes as 4 characters, so the output is about 33% larger than the original data, plus padding.