Base64 Encoder

What is Base64 Encoding?

Base64 is a binary-to-text encoding scheme that represents binary data in an ASCII string format. It's commonly used to encode binary data for transmission over media that only support text, such as email or HTTP.

Common Uses of Base64 Encoding

• Email Attachments: MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) uses Base64 to encode email attachments.
• Data URIs: Embedding images and other files directly in HTML or CSS using data URIs.
• API Transmission: Sending binary data through JSON APIs that only support text.
• Basic Authentication: HTTP Basic Authentication uses Base64 to encode credentials.
• Storing Binary Data: Storing binary data in text-based formats like JSON or XML.

How Does Base64 Encoding Work?

Base64 encoding converts 8-bit binary data into 6-bit characters using a set of 64 ASCII characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /). Every 3 bytes of input data are converted to 4 Base64 characters, which increases the data size by approximately 33%.

Is Base64 Encoding Secure?

No, Base64 is not encryption. It's an encoding method that's easily reversible. Don't use Base64 to protect sensitive data. Use proper encryption algorithms for security.

Need to decode Base64 encoded data? Use our Base64 Decoder tool to convert Base64 strings back to their original format.

Base64 Encoding in Programming Languages

Most programming languages have built-in functions for Base64 encoding. Here are examples in popular languages:

$encoded = base64_encode($data);

const encoded = btoa(data); // Browser
const encoded = Buffer.from(data).toString('base64'); // Node.js

import base64
encoded = base64.b64encode(data.encode()).decode()

import "encoding/base64"
encoded := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte(data))

import java.util.Base64;
String encoded = Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(data.getBytes());

require 'base64'
encoded = Base64.encode64(data)

string encoded = Convert.ToBase64String(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(data));