Encoding tools for the web
Base64, URL encoding, hex and binary. Encode and decode in both directions.
Choose a conversion
Developer encoding tools
Which one do you need?
These four convert the same thing at different levels, and picking the wrong one is how you end up staring at a wall of digits when all you wanted was a character's number. Character codes and Unicode code points give you the number behind each character. Binary gives you the bits that number is stored as. Base64 packages the bytes so they survive email, a URL or JSON.
Debugging a character that won't display? That's a code point problem. Moving data through something that only handles text is a job for Base64, and reading a hex dump or a wire protocol means binary.
Encoding is not encryption
An encoding changes how data is written so it survives the trip, and anyone can reverse it. That's the point: the recipient has to be able to.
Keeping something secret needs encryption and a key. Base64 in particular turns up in places where someone hoped it was hiding something, and it never was.
Questions
Which character set should I use?
UTF-8, unless you know the text came from an older system. It covers every script and it's what the web assumes.
Why is my Base64 a third bigger than the file?
Four characters carry three bytes. That's the cost of passing through text-only systems.
Can I chain conversions?
Not yet. For now, copy the result of one converter into the next. Base64 and then binary is a common pair.