PHP 8 reference · String Functions

PHP base64_encode() Function

Encode binary data or text as Base64, using only letters, digits, + and /, so it travels safely as text.

Create a free account to save this page, take notes and track your progress. Sign in

Syntax

base64_encode(string $string): string

Parameter	Description
`string`	The input string.

The Base64 string.

Encode textTry it yourself

<?php
echo base64_encode("Hello, World!"), "\n";

Output

SGVsbG8sIFdvcmxkIQ==

A URL-safe tokenTry it yourself

<?php
$token = rtrim(strtr(base64_encode(random_bytes(9)), "+/", "-_"), "=");
echo strlen($token), "\n"; // URL-safe random token

Output

Version	Change
PHP 4.0	Added

base64_decode() · Decode a Base64 string back to the original data. With strict mode on, invalid input returns false.
bin2hex() · Convert binary data to a hexadecimal string, two hex digits per byte. Often used to print random bytes as a token.
urlencode() · Encode a string for a URL query value: spaces become + and special characters become %XX codes.
PHP Strings · tutorial