Reference Explainer
Base64 Encoding
Base64 converts binary-safe data to ASCII text for transport.
What It Is
- Base64 maps binary bytes into a fixed alphabet of 64 characters.
- It is an encoding format, not encryption, so it provides no confidentiality.
- Base64URL is a variant used by JWT with URL-safe characters.
Common Pitfalls
- Treating Base64 as secure or secret.
- Forgetting padding and URL-safe substitutions.
- Incorrectly decoding UTF-8 payloads as Latin-1 text.