Storing images as base64 representations

example.rb

require 'base64'

file = File.open('path/to/file.ext', 'rb') # Read the image as binary
base64 = Base64.strict_encode64(file.read) # This gives you a string you can assign to a constant/variable

tmpfile = Tempfile.new(Base64.strict_decode64(base64)) # Decode and create a temporary file

Digest::MD5.file(tmpfile).base64digest # This is one way to create a checksum on the file
File.size(tmpfile) # You can also get a file size