Base64 in Go
How to encode and decode Base64 in Go — with copy-paste examples and a live converter to check your output.
Go's encoding/base64 package exposes ready-made encodings: StdEncoding for standard Base64 and URLEncoding for the URL-safe alphabet.
Encode to Base64 in Go
import "encoding/base64"
encoded := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte("Hello, World!"))Decode Base64 in Go
import "encoding/base64"
decoded, err := base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(encoded)
text := string(decoded)Notes & gotchas
Go strings are already UTF-8 byte sequences, so no extra charset conversion is needed. Use base64.URLEncoding (or .WithPadding(base64.NoPadding)) for JWTs and URLs instead of StdEncoding.
Try it live
Base64 in Go — FAQ
How do I Base64 encode a string in Go?+
Use the code shown above. Go strings are already UTF-8 byte sequences, so no extra charset conversion is needed. Use base64.URLEncoding (or .WithPadding(base64.NoPadding)) for JWTs and URLs instead of StdEncoding.
How do I decode Base64 back to text in Go?+
Use the decode snippet above. Base64 decoding is lossless, so you get the exact original bytes back; decode them with UTF-8 to recover text.
Is Base64 encoding the same across programming languages?+
Yes. Base64 is a standard (RFC 4648), so a string encoded in one language decodes correctly in any other. Only the API differs, not the output.
Does Base64 secure my data?+
No. Base64 is an encoding, not encryption — anyone can decode it. Never use it to protect secrets.