Question 1

What is Base32 encoding?

Accepted Answer

Base32 encodes binary data into a text string using a 32-character alphabet (A–Z and 2–7 for the standard RFC 4648 scheme). Every 5 bytes of data becomes 8 Base32 characters. It is commonly used in TOTP secret keys, DNSSEC, and systems that need case-insensitive encoding.

Question 2

What is the difference between Base32 and Base32hex?

Accepted Answer

Standard Base32 uses A–Z then 2–7 (RFC 4648). Base32hex uses 0–9 then A–V (RFC 4648 Section 5). Base32hex sorts lexicographically, which is useful for DNSSEC NSEC3 records and ordered data.

Question 3

Is Base32 case-sensitive?

Accepted Answer

No. Base32 is designed to be case-insensitive. This decoder accepts both uppercase and lowercase input and normalizes it before decoding.