diff --git a/base64.lua b/base64.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b1f2a2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/base64.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+local assert, floor, char, insert, concat = assert, math.floor, string.char, table.insert, table.concat
+
+local base64 = {}
+
+local alphabet = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/"
+
+--! This is currently 5 - 10x slower than a C(++) implementation like Minetest's `minetest.encode_base64`
+function base64.encode(
+	str, -- byte string to encode
+	padding -- whether to add padding, defaults to `true`
+)
+	local res = {}
+	for i = 1, #str - 2, 3 do
+		-- Convert 3 bytes to 4 sextets
+		local b1, b2, b3 = str:byte(i, i + 2)
+		insert(res, char(
+			alphabet:byte(floor(b1 / 4) + 1), -- high 6 bits of first byte
+			alphabet:byte(16 * (b1 % 4) + floor(b2 / 16) + 1), -- low 2 bits of first byte & high 4 bits of second byte
+			alphabet:byte(4 * (b2 % 16) + floor(b3 / 64) + 1), -- low 4 bits of second byte & high 2 bits of third byte
+			alphabet:byte((b3 % 64) + 1) -- low 6 bits of third byte
+		))
+	end
+	-- Handle remaining 1 or 2 bytes:
+	-- Treat "missing" bytes to a multiple of 3 as "0" bytes, add appropriate padding.
+	local bytes_left = #str % 3
+	if bytes_left == 1 then
+		local b = str:byte(#str) -- b2 and b3 are missing ("= 0")
+		insert(res, char(
+			alphabet:byte(floor(b / 4) + 1),
+			alphabet:byte(16 * (b % 4) + 1)
+		))
+		-- Last two sextets depend only on missing bytes => padding
+		if padding ~= false then
+			insert(res, "==")
+		end
+	elseif bytes_left == 2 then
+		local b1, b2 = str:byte(#str - 1, #str) -- b3 is missing ("= 0")
+		insert(res, char(
+			alphabet:byte(floor(b1 / 4) + 1),
+			alphabet:byte(16 * (b1 % 4) + floor(b2 / 16) + 1),
+			alphabet:byte(4 * (b2 % 16) + 1)
+		))
+		-- Last sextet depends only on missing byte => padding
+		if padding ~= false then
+			insert(res, "=")
+		end
+	end
+
+	return concat(res)
+end
+
+-- Build reverse lookup table
+local values = {}
+for i = 1, #alphabet do
+	values[alphabet:byte(i)] = i - 1
+end
+
+local function decode_sextets_2(b1, b2)
+	local v1, v2 = values[b1], values[b2]
+	assert(v1 and v2)
+	assert(v2 % 16 == 0) -- 4 low bits from second sextet must be 0
+	return char(4 * v1 + floor(v2 / 16)) -- first sextet + 2 high bits from second sextet
+end
+
+local function decode_sextets_3(b1, b2, b3)
+	local v1, v2, v3 = values[b1], values[b2], values[b3]
+	assert(v1 and v2 and v3)
+	assert(v3 % 4 == 0) -- 2 low bits from third sextet must be 0
+	return char(
+		4 * v1 + floor(v2 / 16), -- first sextet + 2 high bits from second sextet
+		16 * (v2 % 16) + floor(v3 / 4) -- 4 low bits from second sextet + 4 high bits from third sextet
+	)
+end
+
+local function decode_sextets_4(b1, b2, b3, b4)
+	local v1, v2, v3, v4 = values[b1], values[b2], values[b3], values[b4]
+	assert(v1 and v2 and v3 and v4)
+	return char(
+		4 * v1 + floor(v2 / 16), -- first sextet + 2 high bits from second sextet
+		16 * (v2 % 16) + floor(v3 / 4), -- 4 low bits from second sextet + 4 high bits from third sextet
+		64 * (v3 % 4) + v4 -- 2 low bits from third sextet + fourth sextet
+	)
+end
+
+--! This is also about 10x slower than a C(++) implementation like Minetest's `minetest.decode_base64`
+function base64.decode(
+	-- base64-encoded string to decode
+	str,
+	-- Whether to expect padding:
+	-- * `nil` (default) - may (or may not) be padded,
+	-- * `false` - must not be padded,
+	-- * `true` - must be padded
+	padding
+)
+	-- Handle the empty string - the below code expects a nonempty string
+	if str == "" then return "" end
+
+	local res = {}
+	-- Note: the last (up to) 4 sextets are deliberately excluded, since they may contain padding
+	for i = 1, #str - 4, 4 do
+		-- Convert 4 sextets to 3 bytes
+		insert(res, decode_sextets_4(str:byte(i, i + 3)))
+	end
+	local sextets_left = #str % 4
+	if sextets_left == 0 then -- possibly padded
+		-- Convert 4 sextets to 3 bytes, taking padding into account
+		local b3, b4 = str:byte(#str - 1, #str)
+		if b3 == ("="):byte() then
+			assert(b4 == ("="):byte())
+			assert(padding ~= false, "got padding")
+			insert(res, decode_sextets_2(str:byte(#str - 3, #str - 2)))
+		elseif b4 == ("="):byte() then
+			assert(padding ~= false, "got padding")
+			insert(res, decode_sextets_3(str:byte(#str - 3, #str - 1)))
+		else -- no padding necessary
+			assert(#str >= 4)
+			assert(#({str:byte(#str - 3, #str)}) == 4)
+			insert(res, decode_sextets_4(str:byte(#str - 3, #str)))
+		end
+	else -- no padding and length not divisible by 4
+		assert(padding ~= true, "missing/invalid padding")
+		assert(sextets_left ~= 1)
+		if sextets_left == 2 then
+			insert(res, decode_sextets_2(str:byte(#str - 1, #str)))
+		elseif sextets_left == 3 then
+			insert(res, decode_sextets_3(str:byte(#str - 2, #str)))
+		end
+	end
+	return concat(res)
+end
+
+return base64
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/init.lua b/init.lua
index 6de3178..53566a4 100644
--- a/init.lua
+++ b/init.lua
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ for _, file in pairs{
 	"json",
 	"luon",
 	"bluon",
+	"base64",
 	"persistence",
 	"debug",
 	"web"