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Encoding

Convert binary code to text

Binary Decode reads groups of binary digits and turns them into text: 01101000 01101001 becomes hi. Developers paste binary dumps from low-level tools, and students decode the 8-bit messages in computer-science exercises and puzzles. Groups can be separated by spaces, line breaks or commas, or run together as one unbroken string of whole bytes. The bytes are read as UTF-8, so anything Binary Encode produces, accents and emoji included, comes back as it went in.

Open Binary Decode in the app Browse all tools

How to use Binary Decode

  1. Open Binary Decode in the Toolbox101 app.
  2. Paste binary such as 01101000 01101001 into the Binary box: one 8-digit group per byte, or one unbroken string whose length is a multiple of 8.
  3. Read the decoded text in the Output box; it updates as you type or correct a group.
  4. Click Copy to copy the text and compare it with the message you expected.

Worked example

Binary Decode returns the output below for this input.

Input

01101000 01101001

Output

hi

Check it yourself: open Binary Decode and enter the same input.

Frequently asked questions

What binary format does this decoder accept?

Groups of up to eight binary digits separated by spaces, line breaks or commas, or a single unbroken string whose length is a multiple of eight, which is cut into bytes. A group with more than eight digits, or any character other than 0, 1 and separators, is reported as an error.

Why does the decoded text show � characters?

The bytes are read as UTF-8. If the bits are a byte sequence that is not valid UTF-8 text, such as a number table or part of a binary file, the bytes that cannot form characters appear as �. Text from Binary Encode or from an ASCII table never has that problem.

What happens if I paste binary with newlines or double spaces?

Both are fine. Any run of whitespace, line breaks included, separates groups, and commas or semicolons count as separators too, so word-wrapped output from another tool decodes in one go.

How is decoding binary to text different from binary to decimal?

This decoder reads each byte as a character code and returns text: 01101000 becomes h. A base converter reads the same digits as a plain number, so 01101000 becomes 104. Choose by what the digits mean: letters to read, or a value to compute with.

Use Binary Decode now

Open Binary Decode in the app

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