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Base64 Encoder / Decoder

Browser processing — files never leave your device

Convert text to Base64 and back. Unlike naive implementations, this handles UTF-8 correctly, so emoji and non-Latin text round-trip safely.

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How to use this tool

  1. Paste text (to encode) or a Base64 string (to decode).
  2. Click Encode or Decode.
  3. Copy the output.
  4. For images, use the dedicated Image to Base64 tool instead.

About this tool

Base64 turns arbitrary bytes into a safe alphabet of letters, digits, + and /, which is why it appears in HTTP headers, JWTs, email attachments and data URIs. JavaScript's raw btoa() breaks on any character outside Latin-1; this tool encodes the text as UTF-8 bytes first, so "héllo 👋" encodes and decodes without corruption. Note that Base64 is an encoding, not encryption — anyone can decode it.

Frequently asked questions

Is Base64 encryption?
No. It's a reversible encoding with no key — anyone can decode it. Never use Base64 alone to protect secrets.
Why did emoji break when I used btoa() in my code?
btoa() only accepts Latin-1 characters. Encode the string as UTF-8 bytes first (as this tool does) — in modern JS, via TextEncoder.
What are the = signs at the end of Base64?
Padding. Base64 works in 3-byte groups; = fills out the final group when the input length isn't a multiple of three. Decoders handle it automatically.

Related tools

Image to Base64Encode an image as Base64 and copy it as a raw string, a data URI, an HTML <img> tag or a CSS background rule.Base64 to ImagePaste Base64 image data — with or without the data URI prefix — to preview it and download it as a normal image file.URL Encode/DecodePercent-encode text for URLs, or decode %20-style strings back into readable text. Choose component encoding (strict) or full-URL encoding.