diff --git a/decoder.py b/decoder.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..17c1842
--- /dev/null
+++ b/decoder.py
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""
+Decoder for Paul Butler's emoji steganography method
+Usage: python3 decoder.py "🥜[encoded-text]"
+"""
+
+import sys
+
+def variation_selector_to_byte(char):
+    """Convert a variation selector character back to its byte value"""
+    code = ord(char)
+    
+    # Original variation selectors (VS1-VS16): U+FE00 to U+FE0F
+    if 0xFE00 <= code <= 0xFE0F:
+        return code - 0xFE00
+    # Supplementary variation selectors (VS17-VS256): U+E0100 to U+E01EF  
+    elif 0xE0100 <= code <= 0xE01EF:
+        return code - 0xE0100 + 16
+    else:
+        return None
+
+def decode_emoji_text(encoded_text):
+    """Decode hidden text from emoji with variation selectors"""
+    bytes_data = []
+    found_variation_selector = False
+    
+    for char in encoded_text:
+        byte_val = variation_selector_to_byte(char)
+        if byte_val is not None:
+            bytes_data.append(byte_val)
+            found_variation_selector = True
+        elif found_variation_selector:
+            # Stop when we hit a non-variation selector after finding some
+            break
+    
+    try:
+        return bytes(bytes_data).decode('utf-8')
+    except UnicodeDecodeError:
+        return f"Raw bytes: {bytes_data}"
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    if len(sys.argv) < 2 or len(sys.argv) > 3:
+        print("Usage: python3 decoder.py '<encoded-emoji-text>' [output-file]")
+        print("  If no output file specified, uses 'decoded_output.txt'")
+        sys.exit(1)
+    
+    encoded = sys.argv[1]
+    output_file = sys.argv[2] if len(sys.argv) == 3 else "decoded_output.txt"
+    
+    decoded = decode_emoji_text(encoded)
+    
+    # Write results to file
+    with open(output_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+        f.write("=== EMOJI STEGANOGRAPHY DECODER RESULTS ===\n\n")
+        f.write(f"Encoded text: {encoded}\n\n")
+        f.write(f"Decoded result:\n{decoded}\n\n")
+        
+        # Unicode breakdown
+        f.write("=== CHARACTER ANALYSIS ===\n")
+        for i, char in enumerate(encoded):
+            code = ord(char)
+            vs_byte = variation_selector_to_byte(char)
+            if vs_byte is not None:
+                printable_char = chr(vs_byte) if 32 <= vs_byte <= 126 else f'\\x{vs_byte:02x}'
+                f.write(f"  {i:3d}: U+{code:04X} -> byte {vs_byte:3d} ('{printable_char}')\n")
+            else:
+                f.write(f"  {i:3d}: U+{code:04X} '{char}' (base character)\n")
+    
+    print(f"✓ Decoding complete! Results saved to: {output_file}")
+    print(f"✓ Decoded {len([c for c in encoded if variation_selector_to_byte(c) is not None])} hidden bytes")
+    print(f"✓ Preview: {decoded[:100]}{'...' if len(decoded) > 100 else ''}")
\ No newline at end of file