Base64 basics

Base64 encoding converts binary data (like image bytes) into a text string using 64 "safe" ASCII characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /). It's essentially a reversible text encoding—it lets you stuff any binary blob into a string, and the browser knows how to decode it back.

Base64 is now mostly useful for edge cases—email assets, single-file exports, or tiny assets where the simplicity of encoding outweighs the costs of serving an actual file.