📦 Base64 Encoder / Decoder
Encode any text to Base64 or decode Base64 back to text — UTF-8 safe, with URL-safe variant, entirely in your browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Base64 encoding?
Base64 represents binary data using 64 printable ASCII characters (A–Z, a–z, 0–9, + and /), so it can travel safely through systems designed for text — email bodies, JSON payloads, data URLs, HTTP basic auth headers. Every 3 bytes of input become 4 Base64 characters, so output is about 33% larger than the input.
Is Base64 encryption?
No. Base64 is an encoding, not encryption — anyone can decode it instantly without a key. Never use Base64 to protect passwords or secrets; it only makes data text-safe, not confidential.
Does this tool support Unicode text like emoji and Indian scripts?
Yes. Text is converted to UTF-8 bytes before encoding (and decoded back from UTF-8), so emoji, Hindi, Tamil, and any other Unicode text encode and decode correctly — unlike a plain btoa() call, which fails on non-Latin characters.
What is URL-safe Base64?
Standard Base64 uses + and /, which have special meanings in URLs. The URL-safe variant (RFC 4648 §5, "base64url") replaces + with -, / with _, and usually drops the = padding — it's the encoding used in JWTs and many API tokens. Toggle the URL-safe checkbox to switch; the decoder accepts both variants automatically.
Why do I get "Invalid Base64" when decoding?
The input contains characters outside the Base64 alphabet, or its length is inconsistent with Base64's 4-character groups. Check for accidental line breaks mixed with other text, missing characters, or data that was double-encoded. Whitespace and newlines within the input are stripped automatically before decoding.
Is my data sent to a server?
No. Encoding and decoding run entirely in your browser using JavaScript's built-in functions — your text never leaves your device.