Base64 Encoder Online

What is Base64 Encoding?

Base64 encoding is a technique for converting binary data into a text-based format using only ASCII characters. It is commonly used to ensure data integrity when transmitting information over text-based systems, such as emails, URLs, and APIs. Base64 encoding ensures that the data remains intact without modification during transport.

Why is Base64 Encoding Necessary?

Base64 encoding is necessary when you need to encode binary data (e.g., images, files) into a text format that can be safely transmitted over text-based protocols. It is also used to embed data in URLs, HTML, or CSS without causing issues with special characters.

How Base64 Encoding Works

• The input data (text, images, etc.) is converted into its raw binary representation (not necessarily ASCII, as Base64 works with any binary data).
• The binary data is split into 24-bit chunks (3 bytes at a time).
• Each 24-bit chunk is further divided into four 6-bit groups.
• Each 6-bit group is mapped to one of 64 predefined Base64 characters:A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /, and = (for padding)
• If the input data isn’t divisible by 3 bytes, zero bits are appended to form a 24-bit chunk during encoding, and = padding is added to the output to indicate how many bytes were added.

Base64 Character Set

Base64 encoding uses a predefined set of 64 ASCII characters:

• Uppercase letters (A-Z).
• Lowercase letters (a-z).
• Numbers (0-9).
• Symbols (+, /).
• Padding character (=) (used when the input length isn’t a multiple of 3).

Examples:

• The string Hello, World! is encoded as SGVsbG8sIFdvcmxkIQ==.
• The string OpenAI is encoded as T3BlbkFJ.