How to Decode Base64 Data in Python

Python offers built-in support for Base64 encoding and decoding through the base64 module, making it simple to decode binary or textual Base64-encoded data into its original form.

Example: Decoding Base64 Data
Here’s how to decode a Base64 string using Python:

import base64
# Your Base64-encoded string
b64_data = 'ABCSSDURN'
# Convert to bytes, if it's a string
decoded_bytes = base64.b64decode(b64_data)
# If the original data was text, decode to string
try:
   decoded_string = decoded_bytes.decode('utf-8')
   print(decoded_string)
except UnicodeDecodeError:
   print("Decoded data is binary, not UTF-8 text.")

Explanation:

• base64.b64decode() decodes the Base64-encoded input.
• If the original data was textual (like JSON or plain text), decode the resulting bytes using .decode(‘utf-8’).
• If the decoded data is binary (like images, PDFs, etc.), you should save it to a file instead of printing it.

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