fetchToBase64

Category: File Operations

Namespace: web.files.fetchToBase64

Description

Fetch files from URLs and return as base64-encoded strings. This API is ideal for loading remote content into memory for display, processing, or creating data URLs.

Syntax

// Simple form
const base64 = await web.files.fetchToBase64(url);

// Options form
const base64 = await web.files.fetchToBase64({
    url: string,
    timeout: number
});

Parameters

• url (required) - HTTP/HTTPS URL to fetch from
• timeout (optional) - Timeout in milliseconds (default: 30000)

Returns

Promise<string> - Base64-encoded file content

Example

// Display remote image
const base64 = await web.files.fetchToBase64('https://example.com/logo.png');
const img = document.createElement('img');
img.src = `data:image/png;base64,${base64}`;
document.body.appendChild(img);

// With custom timeout
const base64 = await web.files.fetchToBase64({
    url: 'https://example.com/large-image.jpg',
    timeout: 60000  // 60 seconds for large files
});

// Create data URL for CSS
const base64 = await web.files.fetchToBase64('https://example.com/bg.jpg');
document.body.style.backgroundImage = `url(data:image/jpeg;base64,${base64})`;

Use Cases

• Display remote images without saving to disk
• Load remote data for in-memory processing
• Create data URLs for CSS/HTML
• Fetch small files for immediate use
• Load remote resources for immediate use

When to Use

Use fetchToBase64() when:

• You need to display content (images, etc.)
• You need to process data in memory
• You want to create data URLs
• File is small (<10MB)

Use downloadFromUrl() when:

• You want to save directly to disk
• File is large (more memory efficient)
• You don't need content in memory
• You're downloading multiple files

Technical Notes

• Base64 encoding increases size by ~33%
• Large files (>10MB) may cause memory issues
• For large files, use downloadFromUrl() instead
• Use atob() to decode base64 back to binary string