How to convert file to base64 in JavaScript?

Question

UPD TypeScript version is also available in answers

Now I'm getting File object by this line:

file = document.querySelector('#files > input[type="file"]').files[0]

I need to send this file via json in base 64. What should I do to convert it to base64 string?

Answer 1

Try the solution using the FileReader class:

function getBase64(file) {
   var reader = new FileReader();
   reader.readAsDataURL(file);
   reader.onload = function () {
     console.log(reader.result);
   };
   reader.onerror = function (error) {
     console.log('Error: ', error);
   };
}

var file = document.querySelector('#files > input[type="file"]').files[0];
getBase64(file); // prints the base64 string

Notice that .files[0] is a File type, which is a sublcass of Blob. Thus it can be used with FileReader.
See the complete working example.

Answer 2

Modern ES6 way (async/await)

const toBase64 = file => new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    const reader = new FileReader();
    reader.readAsDataURL(file);
    reader.onload = () => resolve(reader.result);
    reader.onerror = reject;
});

async function Main() {
   const file = document.querySelector('#myfile').files[0];
   console.log(await toBase64(file));
}

Main();

UPD:

If you want to catch errors

async function Main() {
   const file = document.querySelector('#myfile').files[0];
   try {
      const result = await toBase64(file);
      return result
   } catch(error) {
      console.error(error);
      return;
   }
   //...
}

Answer 3

If you're after a promise-based solution, this is @Dmitri's code adapted for that:

function getBase64(file) {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    const reader = new FileReader();
    reader.readAsDataURL(file);
    reader.onload = () => resolve(reader.result);
    reader.onerror = error => reject(error);
  });
}

var file = document.querySelector('#files > input[type="file"]').files[0];
getBase64(file).then(
  data => console.log(data)
);

Answer 4

Building up on Dmitri Pavlutin and joshua.paling answers, here's an extended version that extracts the base64 content (removes the metadata at the beginning) and also ensures padding is done correctly.

function getBase64(file) {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    const reader = new FileReader();
    reader.readAsDataURL(file);
    reader.onload = () => {
      let encoded = reader.result.toString().replace(/^data:(.*,)?/, '');
      if ((encoded.length % 4) > 0) {
        encoded += '='.repeat(4 - (encoded.length % 4));
      }
      resolve(encoded);
    };
    reader.onerror = error => reject(error);
  });
}

Answer 5

TypeScript version

const file2Base64 = (file:File):Promise<string> => {
    return new Promise<string> ((resolve,reject)=> {
         const reader = new FileReader();
         reader.readAsDataURL(file);
         reader.onload = () => resolve(reader.result?.toString() || '');
         reader.onerror = error => reject(error);
     })
    }

Answer 6

JavaScript btoa() function can be used to convert data into base64 encoded string

<div>
    <div>
        <label for="filePicker">Choose or drag a file:</label><br>
        <input type="file" id="filePicker">
    </div>
    <br>
    <div>
        <h1>Base64 encoded version</h1>
        <textarea id="base64textarea" 
                  placeholder="Base64 will appear here" 
                  cols="50" rows="15"></textarea>
    </div>
</div>

var handleFileSelect = function(evt) {
    var files = evt.target.files;
    var file = files[0];

    if (files && file) {
        var reader = new FileReader();

        reader.onload = function(readerEvt) {
            var binaryString = readerEvt.target.result;
            document.getElementById("base64textarea").value = btoa(binaryString);
        };

        reader.readAsBinaryString(file);
    }
};

if (window.File && window.FileReader && window.FileList && window.Blob) {
    document.getElementById('filePicker')
            .addEventListener('change', handleFileSelect, false);
} else {
    alert('The File APIs are not fully supported in this browser.');
}

Answer 7

Here are a couple functions I wrote to get a file in a json format which can be passed around easily:

    //takes an array of JavaScript File objects
    function getFiles(files) {
        return Promise.all(files.map(getFile));
    }

    //take a single JavaScript File object
    function getFile(file) {
        const reader = new FileReader();
        return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
            reader.onerror = () => { reader.abort(); reject(new Error("Error parsing file"));}
            reader.onload = function () {

                //This will result in an array that will be recognized by C#.NET WebApi as a byte[]
                let bytes = Array.from(new Uint8Array(this.result));

                //if you want the base64encoded file you would use the below line:
                let base64StringFile = btoa(bytes.map((item) => String.fromCharCode(item)).join(""));

                //Resolve the promise with your custom file structure
                resolve({ 
                    bytes,
                    base64StringFile,
                    fileName: file.name, 
                    fileType: file.type
                });
            }
            reader.readAsArrayBuffer(file);
        });
    }

    //using the functions with your file:

    file = document.querySelector('#files > input[type="file"]').files[0]
    getFile(file).then((customJsonFile) => {
         //customJsonFile is your newly constructed file.
         console.log(customJsonFile);
    });

    //if you are in an environment where async/await is supported

    files = document.querySelector('#files > input[type="file"]').files
    let customJsonFiles = await getFiles(files);
    //customJsonFiles is an array of your custom files
    console.log(customJsonFiles);
    

Answer 8

const fileInput = document.querySelector('input');

fileInput.addEventListener('change', (e) => {

// get a reference to the file
const file = e.target.files[0];

// encode the file using the FileReader API
const reader = new FileReader();
reader.onloadend = () => {

    // use a regex to remove data url part
    const base64String = reader.result
        .replace('data:', '')
        .replace(/^.+,/, '');

    // log to console
    // logs wL2dvYWwgbW9yZ...
    console.log(base64String);
};
reader.readAsDataURL(file);});

Answer 9

I have used this simple method and it's worked successfully

 function  uploadImage(e) {
  var file = e.target.files[0];
    let reader = new FileReader();
    reader.onload = (e) => {
    let image = e.target.result;
    console.log(image);
    };
  reader.readAsDataURL(file);
  
}

Answer 10

onInputChange(evt) {
    var tgt = evt.target || window.event.srcElement,
    files = tgt.files;
    if (FileReader && files && files.length) {
        var fr = new FileReader();
        fr.onload = function () {
            var base64 = fr.result;
            debugger;
        }
        fr.readAsDataURL(files[0]);
    }
}

Answer 11

Convert any file to base64 using this way -

_fileToBase64(file: File) {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    const reader = new FileReader();
    reader.readAsDataURL(file);
    reader.onload = () => resolve(reader.result.toString().substr(reader.result.toString().indexOf(',') + 1));
    reader.onerror = error => reject(error);
  });
}

Answer 12

This page is the first match when searching for how to convert a file object to a string. If you are not concerned about base64, the answer to that questions is as simple as:

    str = await file.text()

Answer 13

Extending on the above solutions by adding, with a use case where I required the ability to iterate through multiple fields on a form and get their values and with one being a file, it caused problems with he async requirements

Solved it like this:

    async collectFormData() {
        // Create the file parsing promise
        const toBase64 = file => new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
            const reader = new FileReader();
            reader.readAsDataURL(file);
            reader.onload = () => resolve(reader.result);
            reader.onerror = error => reject(error);
        });
    
        
        let form_vals = []
        let els = [] // Form elements collection

        // This is separate because wrapping the await in a callback
        // doesn't work 
        $(`.form-field`).each(function (e) {
            els.push(this) // add to the collection of form fields
        })

        // Loop through the fields to collect information 
        for (let elKey in els) {
            let el = els[elKey]

            // If the field is input of type file. call the base64 parser
            if ($(el).attr('type') == 'file') {
                // Get a reference to the file
                const file = el.files[0];

                form_vals.push({
                    "key": el.id,
                    "value": await toBase64(file)
                })

        }


        // TODO: The rest of your code here form_vals will now be 
        // populated in time for a server post
    }

This is purely to solve the problem of dealing with multiple fields in a smoother way

Answer 14

const file_to_base64 = async (a_file: File) => {
  let a_function = 
    (file: File) => new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
      const reader = new FileReader();
      reader.readAsDataURL(file);
      reader.onload = () => {
        let base64_string = String(reader.result).split(",")[1]
        resolve(base64_string)
      };
      reader.onerror = error => reject(error);
    })
    return (await a_function(a_file) as string)
}

Answer 15

This works

// fileObj: File
const base64 = window.URL.createObjectURL(fileObj);

// You can use it with <img src={base64} />