File to Base64 Converter
Choose an image or file — get back a ready-to-use Base64 data URI (or plain Base64) you can paste directly into CSS, HTML, JSON or an API payload.
How to use
Select a file — for images, a small preview appears alongside the encoded output. Copy the full data URI (starting with `data:image/png;base64,…`) to embed the file directly inline in CSS or HTML, or copy just the Base64 portion if your target field expects raw Base64 without the prefix.
Embedding small images this way avoids an extra HTTP request, which helps for tiny icons or a handful of assets — but for anything larger than a few KB, a regular image file with proper caching is usually faster to load than inline Base64.
FAQ
What is a data URI used for?
It embeds a file's content directly inside CSS, HTML or JSON as text, instead of linking to a separate file. Common uses: small inline icons in CSS (`background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,...)`, tiny images in emails where external images might be blocked, or embedding a file in a JSON API payload.
Should I use data URIs for all my images?
No — only for small, rarely-changing assets (a few KB at most). Base64 encoding makes the data about 33% larger, and inlined images can't be cached separately by the browser the way a regular image file can, which hurts performance for anything beyond small icons.
What's the difference between the data URI and the Base64-only output?
The data URI includes the `data:<mime-type>;base64,` prefix that tells a browser or app how to interpret the following data — needed for CSS/HTML. The Base64-only version is the raw encoded bytes, needed when a field or API expects Base64 without any prefix (common in many JSON APIs).
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No — encoding happens locally using the browser's FileReader API. The file's contents never leave your device.