# qntm/base65536

Unicode's answer to Base64

Repository: https://github.com/qntm/base65536
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/base65536
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-01-01T14:49:15+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 59/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 60, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3924, "days_push": 244, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2204, forks 57 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:25.838307+00:00)

## What it is
A JavaScript library implementing Base65536, a binary-to-text encoding optimized for UTF-32-encoded text using only safe Unicode code points. It is a more space-efficient alternative to Base64 for transmitting binary data through text channels.

## Use cases
- encode binary data as unicode text
- pack more data into tweets than base64
- alternative to base64 encoding in javascript
- transmit binary files through text-only channels
- decode base65536 strings back to bytes

## When to choose
- you need to embed binary data in UTF-32 text with maximum density
- you want a well-tested, MIT-licensed encoding library for Node.js
- you are sending data through text-limited channels like tweets

## When to avoid
- your channel is UTF-8 constrained, where Base64 or Base85 are more efficient
- you need broad language support beyond JavaScript
- you specifically need tweet-optimized encoding, where Base2048 is now recommended

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: maintenance
- function: serialization
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: -
- tags: base65536, unicode, binary-to-text, base64-alternative, utf-32, encoding, text-processing, nodejs, javascript

## Member repositories
- qntm/base65536 (main) score 59

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:25.838307+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:46:44.202350+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/qntm/base65536 (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:25.838307+00:00, sha 31c41ffb6a84)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/base65536 (fetched 2026-08-29T10:27:18.756662+00:00, sha 224c34af6308)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.