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Base64 Decode and Encode
Decode Base64 into text and encode text back to Base64 instantly in your browser.
Configuration
How to use this Base64 tool
Use this tool when you need to inspect an encoded value, prepare a text payload, or create URL-safe Base64 without writing a script.
- Paste Base64 into the left field to decode it into readable text.
- Type or paste text into the right field to encode it back into Base64.
- Choose the character set that matches the original text when decoding older or non-UTF-8 data.
- Use the configuration options when you need URL-safe output, MIME-style line wrapping, separate line processing, or a specific newline separator.
Base64 Decode and Encode features
- Decode Base64 into readable text.
- Encode plain text back into Base64.
- Use URL-safe Base64 output for web tokens, URLs, and API payloads.
- Process input line by line when values should remain separate.
- Control MIME-style line wrapping for encoded output.
- Choose newline output format including LF, CRLF, or unchanged behavior.
- Use side-by-side fields for round-trip encode and decode work.
When Base64 encoding helps
Base64 is useful when binary or structured text needs to travel through systems that expect plain text, such as JSON payloads, XML documents, email bodies, data URLs, configuration files, and API examples.
Developers often run into Base64 while reading API docs, debugging tokens, inspecting webhook payloads, preparing Basic Auth examples, or working with small embedded files. It is also common in email and MIME workflows where long encoded values may be wrapped across multiple lines.
Base64 makes data easier to transport through text-only systems, but it does not make that data secret. If the decoded value contains a credential, token, private key, or personal information, treat it as sensitive even though the encoded version may look unreadable at first glance.
How this Base64 tool works
The tool converts text to bytes in the selected character set, encodes those bytes with the browser's Base64 functions, and applies optional newline, per-line, MIME chunking, and URL-safe formatting rules. Decoding reverses URL-safe substitutions, restores padding when needed, and converts bytes back into text in your browser.
Standard Base64 uses letters, numbers, plus signs, slashes, and optional equals-sign padding. URL-safe Base64 swaps the plus and slash characters for hyphen and underscore so the encoded value is easier to place in URLs, filenames, and token-like strings.
Character set matters because Base64 encodes bytes, not abstract text. UTF-8 is the right choice for most modern content, while ASCII and ISO-8859-1 can help when you are checking older systems or examples that were encoded with narrower character assumptions.
Base64 decode and encode FAQ
Is Base64 encryption?
No. Base64 is an encoding format, not encryption. Anyone can decode it back to the original data.
What does URL-safe Base64 change?
URL-safe Base64 replaces + with -, replaces / with _, and omits padding so the encoded value is friendlier for URLs and filenames.
Why can process each line and chunk lines not both be enabled?
Processing each line treats every line as a separate value, while chunking wraps one encoded value for MIME-style output. Combining them usually creates ambiguous output.
Is my text uploaded?
No. Encoding and decoding run in your browser.
Why does decoded text sometimes look broken?
The Base64 may represent binary data, compressed content, encrypted data, or text encoded with a different character set. Try the character set options, and remember that not every Base64 value decodes into readable text.
Built and maintained by utilkit. Found an issue? Send corrections to contact@utilkit.com