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Base64 encoder and decoder

Convert text to Base64 and back, with correct handling of accents and emoji.

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About this tool

Encode any text to Base64 or decode Base64 back to readable text, instantly and entirely in your browser. Unicode is handled properly, so accented characters, non-Latin scripts and emoji survive the round trip intact — a surprising number of online encoders quietly corrupt them. Supports URL-safe Base64 for use in query strings and JSON Web Tokens, and will decode padded or unpadded input without complaint.

Helpful answers

Using this tool

Is Base64 a form of encryption?

No. Base64 is an encoding, not a cipher — anyone can decode it in seconds. It exists to carry binary data safely through text-only channels such as email or JSON, not to keep anything secret.

Why does my emoji or accented text break on other sites?

The browser’s built-in btoa() only accepts characters below U+0100, so many tools mangle anything else. This tool encodes to UTF-8 bytes first, which round-trips any character correctly.

What is URL-safe Base64?

A variant that replaces + with - and / with _ so the result can sit in a URL or filename without escaping. It is the encoding used by JSON Web Tokens.

Why does it say my Base64 is binary rather than showing the text?

Because the decoded bytes are not valid UTF-8, which usually means the string is an image, a zip or an encrypted blob rather than text. Showing it as text would replace every unreadable byte with a question-mark character and hand you corrupted data, so the tool says so and offers the exact bytes as a download instead.

Does a trailing newline change the result?

Yes, and that is the most common reason two tools disagree. A newline is a byte like any other, so it is encoded. This tool encodes exactly what you paste, warns you when the input starts or ends with whitespace, and lets you trim it deliberately.

How much text can it handle?

One mebibyte per conversion. The work happens in your browser tab, and a much larger paste would make the page stall on a modest laptop or phone, so the limit is enforced with a clear message rather than a frozen page.

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