Base 64 encode a string at the command line via ruby.

string_to_base64.rb

#!/usr/bin/env ruby

if ARGV[0].nil?
  raise "Expecting a string as the first argument"
end

require 'base64'

based = Base64.encode64 ARGV[0]
if !ARGV[1].nil? && ARGV[1] == 'sep'
  puts 'encoded-' + based.scan(/.{1}/).join('-')
else
  puts based
end