How to Get a Base64 Version of a File From Command Line
A while back I wrote an article on how to Convert Image to Data URI with JavaScript. It's a neat trick developers can use for any number of reasons. Instead of abusing canvas, however, why not simply get the base64 data from command line?
You can use base64 and pbcopy to convert a file to base64 and copy it to the clipboard:
# base64 gets data, pbcopy copies to clipboard
base64 -i logo.jpeg | pbcopy
Once you have the file data copied in base64 format, the URL format to use the data is:
# data:{mime-type};base64,{data}
data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgAB......
While base64 data and data URIs do look cryptic, they're useful to avoid making requests to other files. I use them when creating presentations or when I can't count on a decent internet connection.
![5 HTML5 APIs You Didn’t Know Existed]()
When you say or read "HTML5", you half expect exotic dancers and unicorns to walk into the room to the tune of "I'm Sexy and I Know It." Can you blame us though? We watched the fundamental APIs stagnate for so long that a basic feature...
![Regular Expressions for the Rest of Us]()
Sooner or later you'll run across a regular expression. With their cryptic syntax, confusing documentation and massive learning curve, most developers settle for copying and pasting them from StackOverflow and hoping they work. But what if you could decode regular expressions and harness their power? In...
![Sexy Link Transformations with CSS]()
I was recently visiting MooTools Developer Christoph Pojer's website and noticed a sexy link hover effect: when you hover the link, the the link animates and tilts to the left or the right. To enhance the effect, the background color of the link is...
![Disable Autocomplete, Autocapitalize, and Autocorrect]()
Mobile and desktop browser vendors do their best to help us not look like idiots by providing us autocomplete, autocorrect, and autocapitalize features. Unfortunately these features can sometimes get in the way; we don't always want or need the help they provide. Luckily most browsers allow...
