What this tool is good for
This tool converts string and byte data between UTF-8, UTF-16LE, UCS-2, Latin1, Base64, ASCII, Hex, and byte-array forms. It is useful when debugging encoding bugs, inspecting payloads, or preparing data for APIs and protocols.
Encoding notes
| Encoding or form | Example | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| UTF-8 | E4 BD A0 E5 A5 BD | Modern web pages, APIs, JSON, and multilingual text. |
| UTF-16LE | 60 4F 7D 59 | Little-endian UTF-16 data, Windows-oriented text, and some binary protocols. |
| ASCII | 48 65 6C 6C 6F | Legacy data limited to English letters, numbers, and basic symbols. |
| Latin1 | E9 | Single-byte Western European text and compatibility debugging. |
| Base64 | 5L2g5aW9 | Wrap arbitrary bytes as ASCII text for transport. |
| Hex | e4bda0e5a5bd | Inspect and copy raw bytes for protocols, signatures, and debugging. |
| Byte array | 228,189,160,229,165,189 | Represent bytes explicitly as decimal values from 0 to 255. |
- UTF-8 is the most common Unicode encoding used on the web.
- UTF-16LE is the little-endian UTF-16 variant used by this tool, and UCS-2 is treated as its alias.
- Latin1 supports only U+0000 to U+00FF and may truncate higher code points.
- Base64 ignores non-Base64 separator characters such as spaces and line breaks when decoding.
- Hex uses two hexadecimal characters per byte, and incomplete trailing data will be truncated.
- Byte array output represents each byte as a decimal number from 0 to 255 separated by commas.
Mojibake debugging checklist
- Identify whether the source is plain text, Base64, Hex, or a byte array.
- If raw bytes are available, inspect them with Hex or byte-array output before guessing.
- Try the most likely character set first; for modern APIs, start with UTF-8.
- If you see replacement characters, question marks, or truncation, the bytes and decoder probably do not match.
- Check whether URL encoding, Unicode escaping, or JSON string escaping was also applied.
| Symptom | Common cause | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| CJK text becomes mojibake | UTF-8 bytes were read as another single-byte or legacy encoding. | Inspect the raw bytes and decode with the intended encoding. |
| U+FFFD appears | UTF-8 decoding found invalid byte sequences. | Check for truncation or a wrong selected encoding. |
| Base64 output is unreadable | The decoded bytes are binary or still need a character encoding. | Inspect Hex first, then try UTF-8, UTF-16LE, or Latin1 as appropriate. |
| Hex to text fails | The Hex input is odd-length, dirty, or not text in the selected encoding. | Clean the Hex input and decode with the correct character set. |
ASCII note
ASCII only applies to 7-bit ASCII data and is mainly useful for legacy compatibility. In most modern cases, UTF-8 is the better default choice.
FAQ
What problem does a text encoding converter solve?
It helps you inspect how the same text is represented in different encodings, which is useful when debugging garbled characters, imported files, API payloads, and legacy system data.
Why do characters become mojibake?
Mojibake happens when bytes written in one encoding are read as another encoding. Converting or inspecting the byte representation helps you find where the mismatch occurred.
Is Base64 the same as character encoding?
No. Character encodings map text to bytes, while Base64 represents bytes as ASCII text for transport. You may need both when debugging file contents or network payloads.
When should I use Unicode decoding instead?
Use this converter when you are working with bytes and character encodings. Use the Unicode tool when the input is an escaped string such as \u4e2d\u6587.
Why is decoded Base64 still not readable text?
Base64 decodes to bytes. Those bytes may be UTF-8 text, but they may also be images, keys, compressed payloads, or another binary format that should be inspected as Hex instead.
Related tools
- Base64 Encode/Decode：Encode strings to Base64 and decode Base64 back to text
- Unicode Encode/Decode：Encode and decode Unicode escape sequences online
- URL Encode/Decode：Encode and decode special characters in URLs