yEnc Encode & Decode

An efficient Usenet encoding that saves size (=ybegin/=yend). This tool does both encode and decode on one page — just pick a mode, paste your text, and click. Everything runs on your device, nothing is sent to a server.

The result will appear here…
or press Ctrl+Enter

Everything runs in your browser. Your data is never sent to our servers.

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Example

Example Input

Cat

Example Output

=ybegin line=128 size=3
‹~
=yend size=3

How to Use

  1. 1Choose Encode or Decode mode at the top.
  2. 2Type or paste your text into the Input field.
  3. 3Click the button (or press Ctrl+Enter) to process. The result appears in the Output field.
  4. 4Click Copy to copy the result, or "Swap input/output" to quickly reverse the operation.

About yEnc

yEnc is a binary-to-text encoding designed for Usenet, much more efficient than UUencode or Base64 because it adds only a small overhead (~1–2%).

How it works: each byte is shifted by 42 (mod 256); only certain critical bytes (NUL, LF, CR, =) are escaped with "=". The result is wrapped in "=ybegin"/"=yend" lines. Because most bytes are unchanged, size is saved.

yEnc is popular for sharing binary files in Usenet newsgroups. This tool is useful for encoding/decoding yEnc payloads, though for general use Base64 is more portable.

FAQ

Can this yEnc tool both encode and decode?

Yes. This is a single page with a toggle — use Encode mode to transform text, and Decode mode to reverse it. No need for two separate pages.

Is my data sent to a server?

No. yEnc is processed entirely in your browser. The text you enter never leaves your device.

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