Base64 Encode and Decode in Linux

Base64 is an encoding and decoding scheme that often used to convert binary data to an printable ASCII text format, and vice versa. This tutorial shows how to perform Base64 encoding and decoding in Linux.

Encoding string

The base64 command can be used to perform Base64 encoding and decoding. String can be encoded as follows:

echo 'Hello world' | base64

Decoding string

For Base64 decoding use --decode option.

echo 'SGVsbG8gd29ybGQK' | base64 --decode

Encoding file

Create a text file for testing:

echo 'Hello world' > data.txt

Encode content of a text file and print result in the terminal:

base64 data.txt

Encode content of a text file and save result in another file:

base64 data.txt > out.txt

Decoding file

Create a text file that contains Base64 encoded data:

echo 'SGVsbG8gd29ybGQK' > encoded_data.txt

Decode content of a text file and print result in the terminal:

base64 --decode encoded_data.txt

Decode content of a text file and save result in another file:

base64 --decode encoded_data.txt > out.txt