Decoding Base64 Images
Base64 is a binary-to-text encoding scheme that represents binary data, such as images, in an ASCII string format. Our Base64 to Image Converter allows you to reverse this process, turning obscure text strings back into previewable, downloadable graphics.
MIME Types & Data URIs
Web browsers use the "Data URI" scheme to embed these strings directly into HTML or CSS. A typical Base64 string used for an image includes a header that tells the browser the file format:
data:image/png;base64,[data]iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUh...Why Use This Tool?
- Developer Debugging: Quickly verify images coming from API responses that send Base64 strings.
- Asset Extraction: Extract images from CSS files where icons or textures are often "inlined" for performance.
- Security Verification: Visually inspect suspicious data strings to ensure they are indeed images and not malicious scripts.
Technical Logic
Our tool reads the initial characters of the string to identify "magic numbers"—specific byte sequences that define file types (JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP). This allows us to reconstruct the image even if the "data:image" header is missing.
Privacy First
All conversion happens entirely in your browser using the HTML5 Canvas API. Your image data is never uploaded to a server, making this tool safe for proprietary UI designs and private photos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Base64 impact image quality?↓
No. Base64 is a lossless encoding method. Converting an image to Base64 and back results in zero data loss; the pixels remain identical to the original.
Why is the Base64 string so much larger than the file?↓
Base64 encoding typically increases file size by about 33% relative to the original binary file because it represents every 3 bytes of data with 4 characters.
Can I convert SVG Base64 strings?↓
Yes, though SVGs are text-based (XML), they can still be Base64 encoded. This tool will render them as long as they follow the image URI standard.