URL Encoder / Decoder
Safely escape text for use in URLs and query strings, or decode percent-encoded URLs back to readable text — both directions, in your browser. Characters that have a special meaning in a URL, or that aren't allowed at all, are replaced by a percent sign followed by their byte value in hexadecimal (a space becomes %20). Choose component mode to encode an individual value such as a single query parameter, or full-URL mode to keep structural characters like : / ? & intact while still escaping the rest. Encoding operates on the UTF-8 bytes of each character, so accented letters and emoji are handled correctly. Nothing is uploaded; the conversion is purely local.
How to use
- Choose Encode or Decode.
- Type or paste your text or URL.
- Use full-URL mode to preserve : / ? & = (otherwise everything is escaped).
- The result updates instantly.
- Copy the output with the Copy button.
Frequently asked questions
- Component vs full-URL mode?
- Component mode escapes everything (encodeURIComponent) — best for a single value. Full-URL mode keeps URL structure characters (encodeURI).
- Does it handle Unicode?
- Yes, non-ASCII characters are percent-encoded as UTF-8 and decoded back correctly.
- Why does decoding fail?
- The input contains a malformed percent sequence (for example a lone % or %ZZ).
- Is anything uploaded?
- No. All encoding and decoding happens locally in your browser.
- Which characters actually get encoded?
- Letters, digits and a small set of unreserved characters (- _ . ~) pass through untouched. Everything else — spaces, punctuation with URL meaning, and any non-ASCII character — is percent-encoded. Component mode also escapes the reserved structural characters; full-URL mode leaves them in place.
- Should I use URL encoding or Base64?
- They solve different problems. URL encoding keeps text mostly readable while making it safe inside a URL; Base64 turns arbitrary binary into compact text but is not URL-safe by default. For query-string values use URL encoding; for embedding binary data use Base64 (its URL-safe variant if it goes in a URL).
Guides on this topic
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