Base64 for File Uploads: Sending Binary Files as JSON
Encode files as Base64 strings to send them in JSON API payloads. Understand the trade-offs vs multipart/form-data and when each approach is appropriate.
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Tags: encoding, api, base64
Base64 for File Uploads: Sending Binary Files as JSON When a web application needs to upload a file to a server, there are two main approaches: (the traditional HTML form approach) and Base64-encoding the file into a JSON payload. Understanding when to use each one prevents a class of subtle bugs and performance issues. The Two Approaches Multipart/form-data The standard approach for file uploads. The browser encodes the file as binary and sends it alongside other form fields in a multipart message: Base64 in JSON The file is encoded as a Base64 string and included in a JSON payload: This approach treats the file like any other piece of data in your API contract. When to Use Base64 for File Uploads Use Base64 when: Your API is exclusively JSON — adding multipart support requires…
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