What is Base64 Encoding?
Base64 is a binary-to-text encoding scheme that represents binary data in an ASCII string format. It's designed to carry data stored in binary formats across channels that only reliably support text content.
How it works: Base64 encoding converts binary data into a set of 64 different ASCII characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /) that can be safely transmitted over text-based protocols.
Important: Base64 is NOT encryption! It's simply an encoding method. Anyone can decode Base64 data without a key.
Example:
Text: "Hello World"
Base64: "SGVsbG8gV29ybGQ="
Common Use Cases
Email Attachments
Encode files for safe transmission via email
Data URIs
Embed images directly in HTML/CSS
API Authentication
Encode credentials for Basic Auth headers
Data Storage
Store binary data in text-only databases