Encode / Decode

Binary Encode / Decode

Turn text into space-separated binary groups, or turn those groups back into text. A character can take more than eight bits. Nothing is uploaded.

Binary Encode / Decode

Turn text into space-separated binary groups, or turn those groups back into text.

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Input

Output

—

Output actions

Ready to copy output once your result appears.

Spaced binary groups, one per character

Binary Encode / Decode writes each character as the binary form of its code number, padded on the left with zeros until the group has at least eight digits, then joins the groups with single spaces. Binary → Text reads whitespace-separated groups back into characters. The two buttons are Text → Binary and Binary → Text. A bad group is rejected with the token quoted. The page does not emit UTF-8 bytes.

How to encode or decode binary

1Paste into the box labeled Input. The placeholder shows a sample pair of groups. Encoding and decoding share that one box. Editing the box does not change Output until you press a button.
2Press Text → Binary to encode, or Binary → Text to decode. Output updates only after that click. A decode error replaces Output with an empty value and prints the message under the buttons.
3Press Copy output for the latest Output. There is no download. An empty successful encode leaves Output blank, and Copy output then reports that there is nothing to copy.

What it is good for

• Seeing Hi as the groups 01001000 and 01101001.
• Checking that a character such as ✓ is one long group rather than a chopped eight-digit byte.
• Rejecting a token that is not binary instead of silently skipping it.

Example

Input

Hi

Output

01001000 01101001

H is 72 and i is 105. Each value is written in binary and padded to eight digits. Binary → Text on that same line returns Hi.

How a character becomes a binary group

Text → Binary walks the string one character at a time, including characters that sit outside the first 255 numbers. The character's code number is printed in base 2. If that print is shorter than eight digits, zeros are added on the left. If it is already longer, nothing is removed. Hi is 01001000 01101001. A space is 00100000, so A B is 01000001 00100000 01000010. The letter é is the single group 11101001. That is the number of the character, not the two UTF-8 bytes a file would store. The check mark ✓ is 10011100010011, fourteen digits, because its number does not fit in eight. The emoji 😀 is 11111011000000000. Groups are separated by one space. There is no 0b prefix and no grouping by commas.

Binary → Text trims the box and splits on whitespace. Each token is read as binary. 1000001, without the leading zero, is the letter A. The eight-digit form and the shorter form are the same number. A token that contains a digit other than 0 or 1 fails the whole decode. 99999999 produces Invalid binary segment: "99999999" and clears Output. An empty box fails the same way, with an empty token inside the quotes. A number too large to be a character, such as thirty 1 digits, produces Invalid code point and the number, again clearing Output. The fallback sentence about 8-bit groups is used only when the failure is not an Error object. These button clicks throw Error objects, so you see the specific sentence.

The two buttons

Text → Binary and Binary → Text are separate buttons. Neither runs when you type. If Output still shows a previous success, you have not clicked since the edit. A successful click replaces Output and clears any red message. A failed decode clears Output, so Copy output has nothing until the next success. Encoding an empty box succeeds and sets Output to empty, which looks the same as a failure in the result panel but does not print a red message.

The card does not remember the box, the direction, or the last result. A reload starts blank. There is no switch for uppercase groups, because the digits are only 0 and 1. There is no width control that would force every group to sixteen digits or clip a long character back to eight.

When spaced groups are the format you need

Use this page when you want one group per character and you can tolerate a group longer than eight digits. A single integer written in several bases belongs on the number base converter. Decimal 65 there is the binary line 1000001, with no padding zero and no second group. Pasting a whole sentence into that converter does not encode the letters.

Spaced hexadecimal bytes of a UTF-8 string belong on hex encode / decode. The letter é is two hex bytes there and one binary group here. A file turned into a data URI is image to Base64. Text turned into a Base64 alphabet is Base64 encode / decode. A \u escape is the Unicode escape tool. None of those pages emit these spaced binary groups.

Continuous bits, long characters, and rejected tokens

Spaces are the only separators. A line of bits with no spaces is one token. 0100100001101001 decoded is the single character 䡩, not Hi. Put the space back where the groups should split. Leading zeros are optional on decode and required on encode only when the number needs them to reach eight digits. A token may be longer than eight digits. That is how ✓ round-trips: encode it, then decode the fourteen-digit group, and the check mark returns.

Do not paste a hex dump here. A digit from 2 through 9, or a letter, makes the token invalid and the whole line fails. The page does not skip the bad token and keep the others. It also does not interpret a 0b prefix: the b fails the token. Newlines count as whitespace, so groups on separate lines decode as if they were spaced.

Rules and limitations

Encode writes each character's code number in binary, pads on the left to at least eight digits, and joins with single spaces. Characters above 255 keep the extra digits. The result is not a UTF-8 byte list.

Decode splits on whitespace, reads each token as binary, and rebuilds characters. An invalid token or an out-of-range number clears Output and shows that error. There is no download and no saved state.

Common problems

If a sentence came back as one strange character, the groups were missing their spaces. Split them and press Binary → Text again.

If a check mark or an emoji looks longer than eight digits, that is the full code number. The encoder does not clip it.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hi always 01001000 01101001?

Yes. Text → Binary on Hi prints those two groups. Binary → Text on the same line prints Hi.

Why is a check mark more than eight digits?

The group is the binary of the character's number, padded only when it is shorter than eight digits. ✓ is 10011100010011. The extra digits are kept.

What does a continuous string of bits decode to?

One character, if the whole string is valid binary and in range. 0100100001101001 is 䡩, not Hi. Spaces mark the group boundaries.

Does a bad token skip ahead?

No. The first token that is not binary stops the decode, clears Output, and quotes the token in the error. Later groups are not decoded.

Is my input uploaded or saved?

This tool processes input in your browser and does not save its input or output to local storage. Copy and download are user actions. The site uses analytics for page and action metadata and may use ads and production error reporting; see the Privacy Policy for those services.

About this tool

Maintained by Toolbench. For large or deeply nested files, split the input into smaller batches and verify representative results before using them in an import or application. Report reproducible problems through Contact.

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