Codec Module

The codec module provides essential Base64, Basic Auth, and query‑string utilities in PubNub Functions. Use these helpers to transform data and authenticate calls in real‑time workflows.

Basic Auth header (basic)

Generate a Basic Authentication header for XHR requests with basic().

Usage: basic(username, password)

• username: Basic Auth username
• password: Basic Auth password

Use when your Function calls third‑party APIs that require Basic Auth.

const basicAuth = require('codec/auth');
console.log(basicAuth.basic('many', 'blocks')); // Basic: bWFueTpibG9ja3M=

Encode Base64 (btoa)

Convert a text string to Base64 with btoa().

Usage: btoa(unencoded)

• unencoded: input string to encode

Use to carry binary or mixed‑charset data over JSON.

const base64Codec = require('codec/base64');
console.log(base64Codec.btoa('hello')); // aGVsbG8=

Decode Base64 (atob)

Convert a Base64 string to text with atob().

Usage: atob(encoded)

• encoded: input string to decode

Use to read Base64 payloads received from external services.

const base64Codec = require('codec/base64');
console.log(base64Codec.atob('aGVsbG8=')); // hello

Encode string (URL‑safe)

Encode a string to be URL‑safe with encodeString().

Usage: encodeString(input)

• input: string to URL‑encode

Use to safely place values in query parameters.

const base64Codec = require('codec/base64');
console.log(base64Codec.encodeString('+')); // _

Parse query string (parse)

Convert a query string to a JavaScript object with parse().

Usage: parse(queryString, defaults)

• queryString: input query string
• defaults: default values used when keys are missing

Use to read incoming query parameters into a typed object.

const queryStringCodec = require('codec/query_string');
console.log(queryStringCodec.parse('a=5&b=10', {c: 15})); // {a: 5, b: 10, c: 15}

Stringify query string (stringify)

Create a query string from an object with stringify().

Usage: stringify(params)

• params: object of key/value items to stringify

Use to build outbound URLs with query parameters.

const queryStringCodec = require('codec/query_string');
console.log(queryStringCodec.stringify({ a: 10, b: 15 })); // a=10&b=15

Functions support

If you need help with a scenario not covered here, contact PubNub Support.