What is Base64?
Base64 is an encoding format that converts binary data into readable text using characters A–Z, a–z, 0–9, plus + and /.
It’s commonly used for sending data in URLs, JSON, HTML, emails, and API payloads.
Is Base64 encryption?
No. Base64 is encoding, not encryption. Anyone can decode it back to the original data.
Why does Base64 sometimes contain JSON?
Base64 is often used to transport structured data such as JSON in tokens, APIs, and configuration files. After decoding Base64 text, the result may contain JSON that needs formatting or validation. You can paste it into our JSON Formatter to make it readable.
What is URL-safe Base64?
URL-safe Base64 replaces + with - and / with _ so the result can be safely used in URLs and filenames.
Padding = may also be removed in some systems.
Can I decode Base64 from a JWT token?
JWT tokens contain Base64URL parts. If you paste a JWT section here, enable URL-safe and try decoding. (JWT signatures are different — this tool only decodes Base64 text.)
Related tools
Developers often combine Base64 with URL decode/encode and UUID generator.