---
title: "Five-minute quickstart"
description: "Decode a Base64-wrapped JSON payload, format it, and save the workflow."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.serialize.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Five-minute quickstart

This walkthrough turns an encoded API-style payload into readable JSON.

## 1. Open the workspace

Open [serialize.dev](https://serialize.dev). The app runs without an account or installation.

## 2. Add operations

Search the operation catalogue and add these operations in order:

1. **From Base64**
2. **JSON Beautify**

The recipe is a pipeline: output from the first operation becomes input to the second.

## 3. Add sample input

Paste this into **Input**:

```text
eyJzdGF0dXMiOiJvayIsIml0ZW1zIjozLCJzb3VyY2UiOiJzZXJpYWxpemUifQ==
```

With Auto Bake enabled, the output updates immediately:

```json
{
  "status": "ok",
  "items": 3,
  "source": "serialize"
}
```

## 4. Inspect and save

Use the status bars to confirm text encoding, line count, byte length, and processing time. Then choose **Save workflow**, give it a name, and store it in the browser or copy the recipe text.

> **Replace only the input**
>
> A useful recipe captures the process, not the sample. Keep the two operations and paste a different Base64 payload to reuse the same analysis.

## When the output is wrong

- If decoding produces binary bytes, remove JSON Beautify and inspect the raw output first.
- If the text uses a URL-safe alphabet, adjust the From Base64 alphabet option.
- If the payload has another wrapper, add the next decoder only after verifying the current layer.

Source: https://help.serialize.dev/getting-started/quickstart/index.mdx