Common Encoding workflows
Encoding represents bytes as text; escaping makes a string safe for a particular syntax; encryption protects data using a key. These operations are not interchangeable. Most encodings work on bytes, so the same text can encode differently depending on its character encoding, usually UTF-8.
Inspect an encoded value
Decode Base64 or hex, then inspect the result as text or bytes. Binary data may not be valid UTF-8, so a decoder can report bytes rather than inventing text. Compressed payloads often need gzip decompression after Base64 decoding.
- Base64 Encode / Decode — Encode and decode Base64, including files and images.
- Hex to Text — Convert between hex bytes and UTF-8 text.
- Gzip Compress / Decompress — Decompress and compress gzip, zlib and deflate.
- Text to Binary — Convert text to 8-bit binary and back.
Make text safe for a URL or HTML
Percent-encode query values, or escape characters that HTML would otherwise read as markup. Encode each value once: double encoding is a common cause of broken links and visible entities.
- URL Encode / Decode — Percent-encode and decode URLs and query strings.
- HTML Escape / Unescape — Escape HTML and decode HTML entities.
- Base64 Encode / Decode — Encode and decode Base64, including files and images.
Embed text in source code
Escape quotes, line breaks and Unicode for a JavaScript, Java, C# or XML string, and unescape a logged literal to read it again.
- JavaScript Escape / Unescape — Escapes the contents of a regular double-quoted string literal without its surrounding quotes.
- Java Escape / Unescape — Escapes the contents of a regular double-quoted string literal without its surrounding quotes.
- C# Escape / Unescape — Escapes the contents of a regular double-quoted string literal without its surrounding quotes.
- XML Escape / Unescape — Escapes text with the five predefined XML entities and decodes predefined or numeric references.
Base64 has variants
Standard Base64 uses + and /, while Base64URL uses - and _ and often omits padding. JWTs and many URLs use Base64URL. Choose the variant your system expects; a decoder that accepts both may still need the right one for encoding.
Encoding is not protection
Base64, hex and ROT13 are reversible without a key. Anyone with the encoded value can decode it. Use encryption when the content must stay confidential.
Frequently asked questions
Does Base64 hide a secret?
No. Base64 is reversible encoding without a secret key. Anyone with the encoded value can decode it. Use an encryption tool when confidentiality is required.
Why does decoded text show strange characters?
The bytes may not be UTF-8 text, or the value was encoded twice or with a different variant. Try viewing the result as hex, and check whether it is compressed or uses Base64URL.
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