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Base64 Decode

Decode Base64 back to text, choosing the character set (UTF-8, EUC-KR, Shift_JIS, GBK…) so the result reads correctly.

Input

Output

Why decoded text sometimes looks like garbage

Base64 carries bytes, not characters. Decoding gives you the original bytes back exactly — but turning those bytes into readable text requires knowing which character encoding produced them.

If the source was encoded as EUC-KR or Shift_JIS and you read it as UTF-8, you get replacement characters (�) or nonsense. That is not a decoding error: the bytes are correct, the interpretation is not.

Use the character set selector above the output to switch interpretation. The bytes never change; only how they are read does.

How to use this decoder

  1. Paste the Base64 string. Line breaks, quotes and stray whitespace are ignored automatically.
  2. If the output shows � or unreadable characters, change the character set — EUC-KR for older Korean data, Shift_JIS for Japanese, GBK or Big5 for Chinese.
  3. Turn on strict mode to be told about invalid characters instead of having them skipped.
  4. Copy the result or download it as a file.

Padding, URL-safe input and whitespace

This decoder accepts both alphabets: a URL-safe string containing - and _ decodes correctly without any conversion step.

Missing = padding is fine too. Padding only helps a parser know where a stream ends, and the length of the input already tells us that.

Frequently asked questions

My Korean/Japanese text is garbled. What do I do?

Change the character set from UTF-8 to EUC-KR (Korean), Shift_JIS or EUC-JP (Japanese), or GBK/Big5 (Chinese). The Base64 was decoded correctly; only the text interpretation was wrong.

Can I decode a Base64 string without padding?

Yes. The = characters are optional here, which means JWT segments and other unpadded base64url values decode as-is.

Is this safe for sensitive data?

The decoding happens locally in your browser and nothing is transmitted. Still, remember that Base64 offers no protection at all — anything encoded in it is effectively plain text.

How do I decode Base64 back into a file?

Use the Base64 to File tool, which reconstructs the original bytes and hands you a download instead of trying to display them as text.

Related tools

Base64 EncodeEncode text or files to Base64, with standard or URL-safe alphabets and optional line wrapping.File to Base64 / Base64 to FileTurn any file into a Base64 string or a data URI, and turn Base64 back into a downloadable file.URL DecodeDecode percent-encoded URLs and query strings back to readable text, including non-Latin characters.JWT DecoderDecode a JSON Web Token and inspect its header, payload and expiry without sending it anywhere.