CodesBeautify

Base64 to Text Converter

Decode a Base64 string back to readable text, choosing the character set when UTF-8 is not the answer.

Base64
Text
Runs locally in your browser

About the Base64 to Text Converter

Most Base64 that reaches a developer is text underneath: a log line, a credential, a message body, a header value. Paste it here and the readable version appears immediately. The pane keeps line breaks and tabs intact, so a multi line note or a small config file comes back exactly as it was written.

The character set selector solves the case that trips people up. Data produced by older Windows tooling is frequently Windows-1252 rather than UTF-8, and decoding it as UTF-8 sprinkles replacement diamonds through every accented word. Exports from some Microsoft APIs are UTF-16 little endian, which as UTF-8 looks like text with a null between every letter. Switching the selector fixes both without touching the input.

The status line counts how many bytes could not be interpreted in the chosen encoding, which turns guesswork into a quick experiment: try each option and keep the one that reports zero problems. Whitespace, newlines, a data URI prefix and the URL-safe alphabet are all handled before decoding starts, so pasted output from a terminal needs no cleanup.

When the bytes turn out not to be text at all, Base64 to File saves them properly, and Base64 to Hex shows you what they actually are.

How to use

  1. Paste the Base64 string into the left pane.
  2. If the result looks wrong, switch the Character set to Windows-1252 or UTF-16 LE.
  3. Watch the status line: zero invalid bytes means you picked the right encoding.

Common questions

Why are there black diamonds in my output?
Those are replacement characters for bytes that are not valid in the selected encoding. Try Windows-1252 or UTF-16 LE instead of UTF-8.
Every letter has a gap between it. What is wrong?
That pattern is UTF-16 read as UTF-8. Choose UTF-16 LE in the character set list.
Can I decode several strings at once?
Not in one pass. Whitespace is stripped, so separate strings would be joined. Decode them one at a time.
Is the decoded text sent anywhere?
No. Decoding happens in the page itself, so passwords and personal data in the payload never leave your device.