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Base64 Encoding
A way to turn pictures or files into plain text so they can be sent safely over the internet.
Detailed Explanation
Base64 is a standard group of binary-to-text encoding schemes (RFC 4648) that represents binary data in an ASCII string format by translating it into a radix-64 representation. Base64 is designed to carry data stored in binary formats across channels that only reliably support text content, such as email (MIME), JSON payloads, and embedded data URIs in CSS or HTML. You can test this using the Base64 Toolkit.
Key Technical Takeaways
- Uses 64 characters: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, / (and = for padding).
- Increases data size by approximately 33% compared to raw binary.
- Base64 is an encoding format, NOT encryption; it offers zero confidentiality.
- Base64URL variation replaces + and / with - and _ to safely pass inside URL parameters and JWTs.
Interactive Companion Tool
Try the Base64 Toolkit
Run calculations and transformations instantly in your browser with zero latency.