> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.avicenna.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Decode Text
> Decode text using standard encoding formats
The **Decode Text** action allows you to decode text from various different formats into standard readable text. Decoding is required when a service (such as an external API) provides an encoded form of text that you need to decode and use in your endpoint.
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### Input Text
The **input text** is the base text value that will be decoded. This may be static text or a variable.
### Encoding Method
The **encoding method** is the format of encoding that your text value is in. Below are listed the available formats that a text value can be decoded from using the Decode Text action:
| **Format** | **Description** | **Example Output** |
| ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Base64 | Helps prevent data corruption in JSON, HTTP Headers, etc. | `SGVsbG8gVGhlcmU=` |
| Base64URL | URL-safe version of Base64 that prevents corruption in URLs, query parameters, etc. | `SGVsbG8gVGhlcmU` |
| Hex | Converts to hexadecimal with a base-16 format for compacting and safety | `48656c6c6f205468657265` |
| UTF-8 | Efficient endocing format used for web services and multilingual compatibility | `Hello There` |
| ASCII | Standard binary integer used to represent English characters | `Hello There` |
| Binary | Foundational 2-bit encoding format used at the deepest levels of computing | `01001000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00100000 01010100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101` |
### Reference Variable
This variable allows you to refer to the result of the text decoding in future action blocks down your endpoint's flow. This variable must be assigned a custom name.
Make your reference variable names as descriptive and unique as possible to prevent your endpoint flow from becoming cluttered. If a future variable is assigned the same name, the value of your reference variable will be overriden.