How do I do base64 encoding on iOS?

Question

I'd like to do base64 encoding and decoding, but I could not find any support from the iPhone SDK. How can I do base64 encoding and decoding with or without a library?

Dimetric

@GregBernhardt link is dead. – Septime

Answer 1

This is a good use case for Objective C categories.

For Base64 encoding:

#import <Foundation/NSString.h>

@interface NSString (NSStringAdditions)

+ (NSString *) base64StringFromData:(NSData *)data length:(int)length;

@end

-------------------------------------------

#import "NSStringAdditions.h"

static char base64EncodingTable[64] = {
  'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E', 'F', 'G', 'H', 'I', 'J', 'K', 'L', 'M', 'N', 'O', 'P',
  'Q', 'R', 'S', 'T', 'U', 'V', 'W', 'X', 'Y', 'Z', 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f',
  'g', 'h', 'i', 'j', 'k', 'l', 'm', 'n', 'o', 'p', 'q', 'r', 's', 't', 'u', 'v',
  'w', 'x', 'y', 'z', '0', '1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8', '9', '+', '/'
};

@implementation NSString (NSStringAdditions)

+ (NSString *) base64StringFromData: (NSData *)data length: (int)length {
  unsigned long ixtext, lentext;
  long ctremaining;
  unsigned char input[3], output[4];
  short i, charsonline = 0, ctcopy;
  const unsigned char *raw;
  NSMutableString *result;

  lentext = [data length]; 
  if (lentext < 1)
    return @"";
  result = [NSMutableString stringWithCapacity: lentext];
  raw = [data bytes];
  ixtext = 0; 

  while (true) {
    ctremaining = lentext - ixtext;
    if (ctremaining <= 0) 
       break;        
    for (i = 0; i < 3; i++) { 
       unsigned long ix = ixtext + i;
       if (ix < lentext)
          input[i] = raw[ix];
       else
  input[i] = 0;
  }
  output[0] = (input[0] & 0xFC) >> 2;
  output[1] = ((input[0] & 0x03) << 4) | ((input[1] & 0xF0) >> 4);
  output[2] = ((input[1] & 0x0F) << 2) | ((input[2] & 0xC0) >> 6);
  output[3] = input[2] & 0x3F;
  ctcopy = 4;
  switch (ctremaining) {
    case 1: 
      ctcopy = 2; 
      break;
    case 2: 
      ctcopy = 3; 
      break;
  }

  for (i = 0; i < ctcopy; i++)
     [result appendString: [NSString stringWithFormat: @"%c", base64EncodingTable[output[i]]]];

  for (i = ctcopy; i < 4; i++)
     [result appendString: @"="];

  ixtext += 3;
  charsonline += 4;

  if ((length > 0) && (charsonline >= length))
    charsonline = 0;
  }     
  return result;
}

@end

For Base64 decoding:

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>

@class NSString;

@interface NSData (NSDataAdditions)

+ (NSData *) base64DataFromString:(NSString *)string;

@end

-------------------------------------------

#import "NSDataAdditions.h"

@implementation NSData (NSDataAdditions)

+ (NSData *)base64DataFromString: (NSString *)string
{
    unsigned long ixtext, lentext;
    unsigned char ch, inbuf[4], outbuf[3];
    short i, ixinbuf;
    Boolean flignore, flendtext = false;
    const unsigned char *tempcstring;
    NSMutableData *theData;

    if (string == nil)
    {
        return [NSData data];
    }

    ixtext = 0;

    tempcstring = (const unsigned char *)[string UTF8String];

    lentext = [string length];

    theData = [NSMutableData dataWithCapacity: lentext];

    ixinbuf = 0;

    while (true)
    {
        if (ixtext >= lentext)
        {
            break;
        }

        ch = tempcstring [ixtext++];

        flignore = false;

        if ((ch >= 'A') && (ch <= 'Z'))
        {
            ch = ch - 'A';
        }
        else if ((ch >= 'a') && (ch <= 'z'))
        {
            ch = ch - 'a' + 26;
        }
        else if ((ch >= '0') && (ch <= '9'))
        {
            ch = ch - '0' + 52;
        }
        else if (ch == '+')
        {
            ch = 62;
        }
        else if (ch == '=')
        {
            flendtext = true;
        }
        else if (ch == '/')
        {
            ch = 63;
        }
        else
        {
            flignore = true; 
        }

        if (!flignore)
        {
            short ctcharsinbuf = 3;
            Boolean flbreak = false;

            if (flendtext)
            {
                if (ixinbuf == 0)
                {
                    break;
                }

                if ((ixinbuf == 1) || (ixinbuf == 2))
                {
                    ctcharsinbuf = 1;
                }
                else
                {
                    ctcharsinbuf = 2;
                }

                ixinbuf = 3;

                flbreak = true;
            }

            inbuf [ixinbuf++] = ch;

            if (ixinbuf == 4)
            {
                ixinbuf = 0;

                outbuf[0] = (inbuf[0] << 2) | ((inbuf[1] & 0x30) >> 4);
                outbuf[1] = ((inbuf[1] & 0x0F) << 4) | ((inbuf[2] & 0x3C) >> 2);
                outbuf[2] = ((inbuf[2] & 0x03) << 6) | (inbuf[3] & 0x3F);

                for (i = 0; i < ctcharsinbuf; i++)
                {
                    [theData appendBytes: &outbuf[i] length: 1];
                }
            }

            if (flbreak)
            {
                break;
            }
        }
    }

    return theData;
}

    @end

Tananarive

If Obj-C is anything like C, you should be able to do this: static char base64EncodingTable[64] = "ABCDE[etc]789+/"; – Braddy

when using base64StringFromData should the length should be the length of the NSData? I only getting the first 4 characters by using the NSData Length. Thanks – Warlock

I found why I was only getting 4 characters... There needs to be a } before the return for the while() loop. I would edit it but I doesn't look like i can. – Warlock

it shows errors error: expected expression before 'else' error: expected expression before 'end' – Scruple

Yea that doesn't work - put isn't declared in base64StringFromData, amongst other things... – Priapic

In base64DataFromString: the xcode analyzer says there are problems with the two lines with inbuf[n] &. It says "The left operand of '&' is a garbage value". I don't see a problem with that code, and so I'm inclined to think this is an analyzer bug, but I wonder if anyone sees a problem with the code. – Welsh

It's not an analyzer bug. Notice the code also attempts to access inbuf[3] which is beyond the bounds of that array. This code stinks. – Warrantable

There are much faster solutions below that I'd recommend using over this one. – Sextillion

What does lenght value represent? – Decaliter

As of iOS7 Apple has exposed their native base 64 encoding method. See Rob's answer below for how to use it while maintaining backwards compatibility. – Overhang

Answer 2

A really, really fast implementation which was ported (and modified/improved) from the PHP Core library into native Objective-C code is available in the QSStrings Class from the QSUtilities Library. I did a quick benchmark: a 5.3MB image (JPEG) file took < 50ms to encode, and about 140ms to decode.

The code for the entire library (including the Base64 Methods) are available on GitHub.

Or alternatively, if you want the code to just the Base64 methods themselves, I've posted it here:

First, you need the mapping tables:

static const char _base64EncodingTable[64] = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/";
static const short _base64DecodingTable[256] = {
    -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -1, -1, -2, -1, -1, -2, -2,
    -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2,
    -1, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, 62, -2, -2, -2, 63,
    52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2,
    -2,  0,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,
    15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2,
    -2, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40,
    41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2,
    -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2,
    -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2,
    -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2,
    -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2,
    -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2,
    -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2,
    -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2,
    -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2, -2
};

To Encode:

+ (NSString *)encodeBase64WithString:(NSString *)strData {
    return [QSStrings encodeBase64WithData:[strData dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding]];
}

+ (NSString *)encodeBase64WithData:(NSData *)objData {
    const unsigned char * objRawData = [objData bytes];
    char * objPointer;
    char * strResult;

    // Get the Raw Data length and ensure we actually have data
    int intLength = [objData length];
    if (intLength == 0) return nil;

    // Setup the String-based Result placeholder and pointer within that placeholder
    strResult = (char *)calloc((((intLength + 2) / 3) * 4) + 1, sizeof(char));
    objPointer = strResult;

    // Iterate through everything
    while (intLength > 2) { // keep going until we have less than 24 bits
        *objPointer++ = _base64EncodingTable[objRawData[0] >> 2];
        *objPointer++ = _base64EncodingTable[((objRawData[0] & 0x03) << 4) + (objRawData[1] >> 4)];
        *objPointer++ = _base64EncodingTable[((objRawData[1] & 0x0f) << 2) + (objRawData[2] >> 6)];
        *objPointer++ = _base64EncodingTable[objRawData[2] & 0x3f];

        // we just handled 3 octets (24 bits) of data
        objRawData += 3;
        intLength -= 3; 
    }

    // now deal with the tail end of things
    if (intLength != 0) {
        *objPointer++ = _base64EncodingTable[objRawData[0] >> 2];
        if (intLength > 1) {
            *objPointer++ = _base64EncodingTable[((objRawData[0] & 0x03) << 4) + (objRawData[1] >> 4)];
            *objPointer++ = _base64EncodingTable[(objRawData[1] & 0x0f) << 2];
            *objPointer++ = '=';
        } else {
            *objPointer++ = _base64EncodingTable[(objRawData[0] & 0x03) << 4];
            *objPointer++ = '=';
            *objPointer++ = '=';
        }
    }

    // Terminate the string-based result
    *objPointer = '\0';

    // Create result NSString object
    NSString *base64String = [NSString stringWithCString:strResult encoding:NSASCIIStringEncoding];

    // Free memory
    free(strResult);

    return base64String;
}

To Decode:

+ (NSData *)decodeBase64WithString:(NSString *)strBase64 {
    const char *objPointer = [strBase64 cStringUsingEncoding:NSASCIIStringEncoding];
    size_t intLength = strlen(objPointer);
    int intCurrent;
    int i = 0, j = 0, k;

    unsigned char *objResult = calloc(intLength, sizeof(unsigned char));

    // Run through the whole string, converting as we go
    while ( ((intCurrent = *objPointer++) != '\0') && (intLength-- > 0) ) {
        if (intCurrent == '=') {
            if (*objPointer != '=' && ((i % 4) == 1)) {// || (intLength > 0)) {
                // the padding character is invalid at this point -- so this entire string is invalid
                free(objResult);
                return nil;
            }
            continue;
        }

        intCurrent = _base64DecodingTable[intCurrent];
        if (intCurrent == -1) {
            // we're at a whitespace -- simply skip over
            continue;
        } else if (intCurrent == -2) {
            // we're at an invalid character
            free(objResult);
            return nil;
        }

        switch (i % 4) {
            case 0:
                objResult[j] = intCurrent << 2;
                break;

            case 1:
                objResult[j++] |= intCurrent >> 4;
                objResult[j] = (intCurrent & 0x0f) << 4;
                break;

            case 2:
                objResult[j++] |= intCurrent >>2;
                objResult[j] = (intCurrent & 0x03) << 6;
                break;

            case 3:
                objResult[j++] |= intCurrent;
                break;
        }
        i++;
    }

    // mop things up if we ended on a boundary
    k = j;
    if (intCurrent == '=') {
        switch (i % 4) {
            case 1:
                // Invalid state
                free(objResult);
                return nil;

            case 2:
                k++;
                // flow through
            case 3:
                objResult[k] = 0;
        }
    }

    // Cleanup and setup the return NSData
    NSData * objData = [[[NSData alloc] initWithBytes:objResult length:j] autorelease];
    free(objResult);
    return objData;
}

Realist

Finally a correct and efficient implementation. Thanks. Some of the other code around here scares me. – Warrantable

The memory allocated as strResult in the encoder seems to be leaked; it just needs a free() at the end (before returning but after NSString stringWithCString) – Hyperphagia

In your encodeBase64WithData: method, doesn't the first parameter in the call to calloc() need to be incremented by 1 to account for the null terminator ('\0') you add at the end? – Dulcedulcea

The fact that apple doesn't provide this makes God want to murder kittens... a lot of them... – Streamlined

I've been using this for a while and it seemed to work great until I started getting some memory corruption related errors and using guard malloc I narrowed it down to this line: *objPointer = '\0'; so beware if you use this in your own apps. – Glassblowing

For a little extra efficiency, try NSData* objData = [NSData dataWithBytesNoCopy:objResult length:j freeWhenDone:YES] – Manzoni

Thanks for clarification! Bloody plagiarism rife on those blogs... :) – Declivous

As of iOS7 Apple has exposed their native base 64 encoding method. See Rob's answer below for how to use it while maintaining backwards compatibility. – Overhang

Best answer ever for Base64 Encoding without any memory issue..Thanks a lot – Moujik

Answer 3

At the time this question was originally posted, people were understandably directing you to third-party base 64 libraries because of the lack of any native routines. But iOS 7 introduced base 64 encoding routines (which actually simply just exposes private methods iOS had going back to iOS 4).

So, you can use the NSData method base64EncodedStringWithOptions: to create a base-64 string from a NSData.

NSString *string = [data base64EncodedStringWithOptions:kNilOptions];

And you can use initWithBase64EncodedString:options: to convert a base-64 string back to a NSData:

NSData *data = [[NSData alloc] initWithBase64EncodedString:string options:kNilOptions]; 

Or, in Swift:

let string = data.base64EncodedString()

And

let data = Data(base64Encoded: string)

Favrot

Thanks about that Rob. Could you please briefly elaborate on what you wrote, "...and exposes the previously private iOS 4 methods"? – Squire

It's a shame this answer is buried beneath all those custom implementations. It's a weakness of SO, where a more appropriate solution may have come about long after the original question was asked, that solution now has to compete with what was previously accepted. – Cancellate

That's why it's always useful to upvote more recently correct answers :) – Coccus

why the hell answers like this are not on top :( , i spent a lot of time processing all the answers above T__T – Unappealable

@Favrot how do you feel about editing this to remove references to iOS 4 (!!) and iOS 7 since Xcode can't even target either one these days? I considered doing it myself but thought you might prefer to. :) Bonus points for including swift sample code... – Analyst

I'm going to leave the iOS references for historical purposes (otherwise people are going to be bewildered by all of those answers about how to do it manually) and to not to invalidate the comments above. But I’ve simplified my answer (as the conditional logic for iOS versions prior to iOS 7 aren't terrible relevant any more; people can look at the previous revision if they’re interested). – Favrot

Answer 4

iOS includes built in support for base64 encoding and decoding. If you look at resolv.h you should see the two functions b64_ntop and b64_pton . The Square SocketRocket library provides a reasonable example of how to use these functions from objective-c.

These functions are pretty well tested and reliable - unlike many of the implementations you may find in random internet postings. Don't forget to link against libresolv.dylib.

Aurelie

Awesome; so much better than random internet site! In case anyone is worried about using these scantly-documented functions, you can see the source for these on Apple's site. – Peppel

This guy gives some more background on it: blog.montgomerie.net/ios-hidden-base64-routines – Laufer

Answer 5

Since this seems to be the number one google hit on base64 encoding and iphone, I felt like sharing my experience with the code snippet above.

It works, but it is extremely slow. A benchmark on a random image (0.4 mb) took 37 seconds on native iphone. The main reason is probably all the OOP magic - single char NSStrings etc, which are only autoreleased after the encoding is done.

Another suggestion posted here (ab)uses the openssl library, which feels like overkill as well.

The code below takes 70 ms - that's a 500 times speedup. This only does base64 encoding (decoding will follow as soon as I encounter it)

+ (NSString *) base64StringFromData: (NSData *)data length: (int)length {
int lentext = [data length]; 
if (lentext < 1) return @"";

char *outbuf = malloc(lentext*4/3+4); // add 4 to be sure

if ( !outbuf ) return nil;

const unsigned char *raw = [data bytes];

int inp = 0;
int outp = 0;
int do_now = lentext - (lentext%3);

for ( outp = 0, inp = 0; inp < do_now; inp += 3 )
{
    outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable[(raw[inp] & 0xFC) >> 2];
    outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable[((raw[inp] & 0x03) << 4) | ((raw[inp+1] & 0xF0) >> 4)];
    outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable[((raw[inp+1] & 0x0F) << 2) | ((raw[inp+2] & 0xC0) >> 6)];
    outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable[raw[inp+2] & 0x3F];
}

if ( do_now < lentext )
{
    char tmpbuf[2] = {0,0};
    int left = lentext%3;
    for ( int i=0; i < left; i++ )
    {
        tmpbuf[i] = raw[do_now+i];
    }
    raw = tmpbuf;
    outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable[(raw[inp] & 0xFC) >> 2];
    outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable[((raw[inp] & 0x03) << 4) | ((raw[inp+1] & 0xF0) >> 4)];
    if ( left == 2 ) outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable[((raw[inp+1] & 0x0F) << 2) | ((raw[inp+2] & 0xC0) >> 6)];
}

NSString *ret = [[[NSString alloc] initWithBytes:outbuf length:outp encoding:NSASCIIStringEncoding] autorelease];
free(outbuf);

return ret;
}

I left out the line-cutting since I didn't need it, but it's trivial to add.

For those who are interested in optimizing: the goal is to minimize what happens in the main loop. Therefore all logic to deal with the last 3 bytes is treated outside the loop.

Also, try to work on data in-place, without additional copying to/from buffers. And reduce any arithmetic to the bare minimum.

Observe that the bits that are put together to look up an entry in the table, would not overlap when they were to be orred together without shifting. A major improvement could therefore be to use 4 separate 256 byte lookup tables and eliminate the shifts, like this:

outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable1[(raw[inp] & 0xFC)];
outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable2[(raw[inp] & 0x03) | (raw[inp+1] & 0xF0)];
outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable3[(raw[inp+1] & 0x0F) | (raw[inp+2] & 0xC0)];
outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable4[raw[inp+2] & 0x3F];

Of course you could take it a whole lot further, but that's beyond the scope here.

Soloma

Hmm. I couldn't get this to work. I observe a different base64 encoding than my expected value. Have you tested this with the examples in RFC 4648? tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4648 – Tananarive

Struggling to see what base64EncodingTable1, base64EncodingTable2, base64EncodingTable3 and base64EncodingTable4 are referencing? – Bernal

Very helpful, but it can read beyond the end of the input buffer. When (left==2), raw[inp+2] will be one byte beyond the end of tmpbuf. I think the line should be: if ( left == 2 ) outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable[((raw[inp+1] & 0x0F) << 2)]; – Emylee

change the following line <code> char tmpbuf[2] = {0,0};</code> to <code>unsigned char tmpbuf[3] = {0,0,0};</code> – Gabrielgabriela

Answer 6

In mvds's excellent improvement, there are two problems. Change code to this:

raw = tmpbuf;
inp = 0;
outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable[(raw[inp] & 0xFC) >> 2];
outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable[((raw[inp] & 0x03) << 4) | ((raw[inp+1] & 0xF0) >> 4)];
if ( left == 2 ) outbuf[outp++] = base64EncodingTable[((raw[inp+1] & 0x0F) << 2) | ((raw[inp+2] & 0xC0) >> 6)];
else outbuf[outp++] = '=';
outbuf[outp++] = '=';

Ormond

Answer 7

Better solution :

There is a built in function in NSData

[data base64Encoding]; //iOS < 7.0
[data base64EncodedStringWithOptions:NSDataBase64Encoding76CharacterLineLength]; //iOS >= 7.0

Leelah

We can do that based on the iOS version on which the app is running using "[[UIDevice currentDevice] systemVersion].floatValue". – Leelah

1. That would not tell you what SDK you linked against, that is a runtime check. 2. That is directly counter to Apple's guidance. You should be checking for the availability of a feature, not the system version. – Aurelie

Answer 8

Glad people liked it. The end-game was a little flawed I must admit. Besides rightly setting inp=0 you should either also increase tmpbuf's size to 3, like

unsigned char tmpbuf[3] = {0,0,0};

or leave out the orring of raw[inp+2]; if we would have a raw[inp+2] != 0 for this chunk we would still be in the loop of course...

Either way works, you might consider keeping the final table lookup block identical to the one in the loop for clarity. In the final version I used I did

while ( outp%4 ) outbuf[outp++] = '=';

To add the ==

Sorry I didn't check RFC's and stuff, should have done a better job!

Soloma

you already have an account here, as your previous answer is actually a different account. Also, this should be either an edit to that or a comment. – Legpull

@alastair, you seem to get an "account" every time you post an answer without registering, after cleaning cookies. I wasn't able to connect to my first "account" (even with the same email and ip address) so I just put it there as a new answer, sorry for that. -- just registered! – Soloma

Any chance you could edit this answer into your previous one so there's a definitive correct version? Thanks! – Hyperphagia

Answer 9

Under iOS8 and later use - (NSString *)base64EncodedStringWithOptions:(NSDataBase64EncodingOptions)options of NSData

Romano

Answer 10

#import "NSDataAdditions.h"
@implementation NSData (NSDataAdditions)

+ (NSData *) base64DataFromString: (NSString *)string {
  unsigned long ixtext, lentext;
  unsigned char ch, input[4], output[3];
  short i, ixinput;
  Boolean flignore, flendtext = false;
  const char *temporary;
  NSMutableData *result;

  if (!string)
    return [NSData data];

  ixtext = 0;
  temporary = [string UTF8String];
  lentext = [string length];
  result = [NSMutableData dataWithCapacity: lentext];
  ixinput = 0;

  while (true) {
    if (ixtext >= lentext)
      break;
    ch = temporary[ixtext++];
    flignore = false;

    if ((ch >= 'A') && (ch <= 'Z'))
      ch = ch - 'A';
    else if ((ch >= 'a') && (ch <= 'z'))
      ch = ch - 'a' + 26;
    else if ((ch >= '0') && (ch <= '9'))
      ch = ch - '0' + 52;
    else if (ch == '+')
      ch = 62;
    else if (ch == '=')
      flendtext = true;
    else if (ch == '/')
      ch = 63;
    else
      flignore = true;

    if (!flignore) {
      short ctcharsinput = 3;
      Boolean flbreak = false;

      if (flendtext) {
         if (ixinput == 0)
           break;              
         if ((ixinput == 1) || (ixinput == 2))
           ctcharsinput = 1;
         else
           ctcharsinput = 2;
         ixinput = 3;
         flbreak = true;
      }

      input[ixinput++] = ch;

      if (ixinput == 4){
        ixinput = 0;
        output[0] = (input[0] << 2) | ((input[1] & 0x30) >> 4);
        output[1] = ((input[1] & 0x0F) << 4) | ((input[2] & 0x3C) >> 2);
        output[2] = ((input[2] & 0x03) << 6) | (input[3] & 0x3F);
        for (i = 0; i < ctcharsinput; i++)
        [result appendBytes: &output[i] length: 1];
      }
    if (flbreak)
      break;
    }
  }
  return result;
}
@end

Roxane

Answer 11

For an update to use the NSData (NSDataBase64Encoding) category methods in iOS7 see my answer here: https://mcmap.net/q/119570/-converting-nsdata-to-base64

Ileostomy

Answer 12

Here's a compact Objective-C version as a Category on NSData. It takes some thinking about...

@implementation NSData (DataUtils)

static char base64[] = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/";

- (NSString *)newStringInBase64FromData
{
 NSMutableString *dest = [[NSMutableString alloc] initWithString:@""];
 unsigned char * working = (unsigned char *)[self bytes];
 int srcLen = [self length];

 // tackle the source in 3's as conveniently 4 Base64 nibbles fit into 3 bytes
 for (int i=0; i<srcLen; i += 3)
 {
  // for each output nibble
  for (int nib=0; nib<4; nib++)
  {
   // nibble:nib from char:byt
   int byt = (nib == 0)?0:nib-1;
   int ix = (nib+1)*2;

   if (i+byt >= srcLen) break;

   // extract the top bits of the nibble, if valid
   unsigned char curr = ((working[i+byt] << (8-ix)) & 0x3F);

   // extract the bottom bits of the nibble, if valid
   if (i+nib < srcLen) curr |= ((working[i+nib] >> ix) & 0x3F);

   [dest appendFormat:@"%c", base64[curr]];
  }
 }

 return dest;
}

@end

Padding can be added if required by making the scope of 'byt' wider and appending 'dest' with (2-byt) "=" characters before returning.

A Category can then be added to NSString, thus:

@implementation NSString (StringUtils)

- (NSString *)newStringInBase64FromString
{
 NSData *theData = [NSData dataWithBytes:[self UTF8String] length:[self length]]; 

 return [theData newStringInBase64FromData];
}

@end

Hypercritical

Answer 13

iOS has had built-in Base64 encoding and decoding methods (without using libresolv) since iOS 4. However, it was only declared in the iOS 7 SDK. Apple documentation states that you can use it when targeting iOS 4 and above.

NSData *myData = ... some data
NSString *base64String = [myData base64Encoding];
NSData *decodedData = [[NSData alloc] initWithBase64Encoding:base64String];

Comatose

Answer 14

Here is an example to convert an NSData object to Base 64. It also shows how to go the other way (decode a base 64 encoded NSData object):

NSData *dataTake2 = 
  [@"iOS Developer Tips" dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];

// Convert to Base64 data
NSData *base64Data = [dataTake2 base64EncodedDataWithOptions:0];

// Do something with the data...

// Now convert back from Base64
NSData *nsdataDecoded = [base64Data initWithBase64EncodedData:base64Data options:0];

Elisavetpol

Answer 15

in iOS 7

        NSData *data=[[NSData alloc]init];
        [data base64Encoding];

Carlyncarlynn

Nagaraj already mentioned this. See his post and the comments that accompnay it that state its been there since iOS 4. – Quackery

Answer 16

I have done it using the following class..

@implementation Base64Converter
static char base64EncodingTable[64] = {
'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E', 'F', 'G', 'H', 'I', 'J', 'K', 'L',  'M', 'N', 'O', 'P',
'Q', 'R', 'S', 'T', 'U', 'V', 'W', 'X', 'Y', 'Z', 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f',
'g', 'h', 'i', 'j', 'k', 'l', 'm', 'n', 'o', 'p', 'q', 'r', 's', 't', 'u', 'v',
'w', 'x', 'y', 'z', '0', '1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7',    '8', '9', '+', '/'
};
+ (NSString *) base64StringFromData: (NSData *)data length: (int)length {

unsigned long ixtext, lentext;

long ctremaining;

unsigned char input[3], output[4];

short i, charsonline = 0, ctcopy;

const unsigned char *raw;

NSMutableString *result;

lentext = [data length];

if (lentext < 1)
    return @"";

result = [NSMutableString stringWithCapacity: lentext];

raw = [data bytes];

ixtext = 0;

while (true) {

    ctremaining = lentext - ixtext;

    if (ctremaining <= 0)
        break;

    for (i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
        unsigned long ix = ixtext + i;
        if (ix < lentext)
            input[i] = raw[ix];
        else
            input[i] = 0;
    }

    output[0] = (input[0] & 0xFC) >> 2;

    output[1] = ((input[0] & 0x03) << 4) | ((input[1] & 0xF0) >> 4);

    output[2] = ((input[1] & 0x0F) << 2) | ((input[2] & 0xC0) >> 6);

    output[3] = input[2] & 0x3F;

    ctcopy = 4;

    switch (ctremaining) {
        case 1:
            ctcopy = 2;
            break;

        case 2:
            ctcopy = 3;
            break;
    }

    for (i = 0; i < ctcopy; i++)
        [result appendString: [NSString stringWithFormat: @"%c", base64EncodingTable[output[i]]]];

    for (i = ctcopy; i < 4; i++)
        [result appendString: @"="];

    ixtext += 3;

    charsonline += 4;

    if ((length > 0) && (charsonline >= length))
        charsonline = 0;
}
return result;
}
@end

While calling call

 [Base64Converter base64StringFromData:dataval length:lengthval];

That's it...

Alden

Answer 17

I Think This will be helpful

 + (NSString *)toBase64String:(NSString *)string {
    NSData *data = [string dataUsingEncoding: NSUnicodeStringEncoding];

    NSString *ret = [data base64EncodedStringWithOptions:NSDataBase64Encoding64CharacterLineLength];

    return ret;
    }

    + (NSString *)fromBase64String:(NSString *)string {
NSData *aData = [string dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
NSData *aDataDecoded = [[NSData alloc]initWithBase64EncodedString:string options:0];
NSString *decryptedStr = [[NSString alloc]initWithData:aDataDecoded encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];

return [decryptedStr autorelease];

}

Noreen

NSStringUtil? Please give a complete answer? – Haughay

This are two methods you need to write in any Class and you can call it and pass String instaces as parameter. – Noreen

Answer 18

Download Base64

Do following code to convert an image to base64

NSString *base64String=[UIImagePNGRepresentation(image) base64Encoding];

Sthilaire

Answer 19

As per your requirement i have created a sample demo using Swift 4 in which you can encode/decode string and image as per your requirement.

• I have also added sample methods of relevant operations.

  //
  //  Base64VC.swift
  //  SOF_SortArrayOfCustomObject
  //
  //  Created by Test User on 09/01/18.
  //  Copyright © 2018 Test User. All rights reserved.
  //
  
  import UIKit
  import Foundation
  
  class Base64VC: NSObject {
  
      //----------------------------------------------------------------
      // MARK:-
      // MARK:- String to Base64 Encode Methods
      //----------------------------------------------------------------
  
      func sampleStringEncodingAndDecoding() {
          if let base64String = self.base64Encode(string: "TestString") {
              print("Base64 Encoded String: \n\(base64String)")
              if let originalString = self.base64Decode(base64String: base64String) {
                  print("Base64 Decoded String: \n\(originalString)")
              }
          }
      }
  
  
      //----------------------------------------------------------------
  
      func base64Encode(string: String) -> String? {
          if let stringData = string.data(using: .utf8) {
              return stringData.base64EncodedString()
          }
          return nil
      }
  
      //----------------------------------------------------------------
  
      func base64Decode(base64String: String) -> String? {
          if let base64Data = Data(base64Encoded: base64String) {
              return String(data: base64Data, encoding: .utf8)
          }
          return nil
      }
  
  
      //----------------------------------------------------------------
      // MARK:-
      // MARK:- Image to Base64 Encode  Methods
      //----------------------------------------------------------------
  
      func sampleImageEncodingAndDecoding() {
          if let base64ImageString = self.base64Encode(image: UIImage.init(named: "yourImageName")!) {
              print("Base64 Encoded Image: \n\(base64ImageString)")
              if let originaImage = self.base64Decode(base64ImageString: base64ImageString) {
                  print("originalImageData \n\(originaImage)")
              }
          }
      }
  
      //----------------------------------------------------------------
  
      func base64Encode(image: UIImage) -> String? {
          if let imageData = UIImagePNGRepresentation(image) {
              return imageData.base64EncodedString()
          }
          return nil
      }
  
      //----------------------------------------------------------------
  
      func base64Decode(base64ImageString: String) -> UIImage? {
          if let base64Data = Data(base64Encoded: base64ImageString) {
              return UIImage(data: base64Data)!
          }
          return nil
      }
  
  
  }
  

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