Base64 encode/decode JS in automation - atob/btoa

[andyburgessmd]

I'm trying to use the atob JS function in automation to decode a base64 encoded string but the output is always 'Error while executing JS'.
The JS works when used in a page but not in automation.
For now I am just trying to get a very simple 'hello world' to decode with

var decoded =  atob("aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=");
return decoded;

in a backend log but this returns the error above.

Does anyone know if atob/btoa are supported in automation?

[ConorWebb96]

Hey @andyburgessmd,

TLDR of the below: atob() won't work in backend development environments.

The reason for this is due to automations being a backend piece of code. The atob() is commonly associated with frontend development, particularly in web browsers, where it is used to decode data that has been encoded using the btoa() function. However, it's important to note that the atob() and btoa() functions are part of the Web API and are not native to Node.js or other backend JavaScript environments.

We have decode helper functions that you can use.

var decoded =  helpers.decodeURI("aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=")
return decoded;

[ConorWebb96]

Hey @andyburgessmd,

Can you decode it before you pass it onto an automation within the design area using atob?

You could try this approach.

function decodeEncodedArray(encodedArray) {
    const decodedString = decodeURIComponent(encodedArray);
    const decodedArray = JSON.parse(decodedString);

    return decodedArray;
}

const encodedArray = your_array_binding;
const decodedArray = decodeEncodedArray(encodedArray);
return decodedArray;

If you could give me a small snippet of the encoded array I could look at it more closely for you.

[andyburgessmd]

The comment plugin stores the comments added through it into a db field like
eyJtZXNzYWdlIjoiSXMgdGhpcyBjb21wbGV0ZWQ/IiwiZW1haWwiOiJlbWFpbEBlbWFpbC5jb20iLCJuYW1lIjoiQW5kcmV3IiwidGltZXN0YW1wIjoxNzA5MDMwMjYyMjk0fQ==|eyJtZXNzYWdlIjoiQW5vdGVociBjb21tbnQiLCJlbWFpbCI6ImVtYWlsQGVtYWlsLmNvbSIsIm5hbWUiOiJBbmRyZXciLCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE3MDkwMzAyNjIyOTR9
Where the encoded comment objects are separated by | (pipes).

I don't understand where you are suggesting to decode it?

[aptkingston]

Feel free to raise a feature request @andyburgessmd and we can add atob and btoa to both the frontend JS sandbox and the backend one for automations 👍 would be a pretty useful addition.

[ConorWebb96]

You can basically convert this via atob in the design view and then send the decoded version to an automation via a trigger automation step.

return function(encodedString) {
    const parts = encodedString.split('|');
    const decodedParts = parts.map(part => atob(part));

    return decodedParts;
}

I've made the above into a snippet, its not needed as atob will work in the design screen regardless. This can decode your encodedString and then send it back to an automation.

Example of the output in design.

Button setup for the trigger automation below

Automation output

Then from here you can likely just loop through the array and output it to an email template.

[andyburgessmd]

Unfortunately the comments plugin doesn't allow me to add additional actions to the button.

I did have a revelation that I could add it to a db formula field but have found that although the live evaluation view shows it works

when it runs the formula it returns a 'Error while executing JS' error.

Should I raise that one as a bug?