Encode text to Base85, or decode Base85 back to UTF-8 text. Base85 is denser than Base64 and is often used in formats and protocols that require compact ASCII-safe data.
The tool supports two common Base85 variants: Ascii85 and Z85. Because they use different alphabets and rules, make sure to select the variant that matches your source system.
Ascii85
Ascii85 is commonly associated with PostScript and PDF data formats. When encoding, you can optionally wrap the output in <~ and ~> delimiters. Decode mode accepts values with or without these delimiters.
Ascii85 can represent partial final blocks, making it more forgiving for arbitrary plain text experiments.
Z85 (ZeroMQ)
Z85 is a stricter variant used by ZeroMQ. It uses a different character set and enforces rigid block sizing. Input bytes must precisely fit 4-byte blocks when encoding, and encoded text must fit 5-character blocks when decoding.
If Z85 rejects your input length, the value may need padding at the protocol layer, or it may not be valid Z85 data.
Batch lines
Batch mode processes one non-empty line per item. Use it for test vectors, copied samples, or when comparing several strings with the same Base85 settings. You can optionally trim whitespace from each line before processing.