8 articles · Plain-English guides

The Blog.

Honest, technical writing on Base64, JWTs, data URIs, MIME, and the corners of web standards where encoding actually matters. No fluff, no SEO sludge.

Fundamentals

Start here.

Fundamentals · 6 min read
What is Base64 encoding? A complete beginner's guide
Base64 explained from scratch — what it is, why it exists, how it works, and where you'll meet it in real systems. Plus what it isn't.
Security · 5 min read
Base64 is not encryption — here's the difference
Base64 looks like encryption but provides zero security. Here's why people confuse them and what to use for actual secrecy.
Reference · 5 min read
Why does Base64 end with "="? Padding explained
The trailing = signs follow a simple rule about input length. Here's the rule, the edge cases, and how to fix "invalid padding" errors.
Reference · 4 min read
URL-safe Base64: what it is and when you need it
JWTs, OAuth tokens, and modern APIs use URL-safe Base64. Here's what it is, how it differs from standard, and how to convert.
Applied

Base64 in real systems.

JWT · OAuth · 7 min read
How to decode a JWT token: a practical guide
Every JWT is three Base64 segments. How to read them, what each claim means, and why decoding alone is not authentication.
Web development · 6 min read
Embedding images with Base64 data URIs
When data URIs save you HTTP requests — and when they bloat your HTML. Plus the SVG special case.
Email · MIME · 7 min read
How Base64 works in email attachments (MIME)
Every email attachment hides Base64-encoded binary inside it. How MIME wraps it, the 76-char line rule, and extracting attachments by hand.
Code snippets · 7 min read
Decode Base64 in JavaScript, Python, PHP, Java, Go, Bash
Working snippets in every major language, including UTF-8 handling and URL-safe variants. With the common gotchas.

About the writing.

Every article is built around the question someone actually typed into a search bar — not what an SEO tool says ranks. We cite RFCs where they matter, link to source code where it helps, and skip the fluff. If something here is wrong, tell us and we'll fix it.

01

Plain English first

Technical writing that respects the reader's time. Definitions when needed, jargon only when it's the precise word.

02

Working code, not pseudo-code

Every snippet is real, runnable code in the language it claims. Tested before publication.

03

Updated, not abandoned

When a standard changes or a library deprecates an API, articles get revised. The "last reviewed" date is at the bottom of every post.