Encoding & Decoding Tools
URL Encoder / Decoder
Encode text for one URL component or decode percent-encoded text back to Unicode. Inspect reserved characters and malformed escapes without sending the value to a server.
✓ Every tool runs in your browser. We do not upload your input or output.
Keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl/⌘ + Enter: process
Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + F: full screen
Esc: exit full screen
Ctrl/⌘ + F in editor: search
How to use
- Paste the text of one query value or path segment, or load the sample.
- Choose Encode or Decode from the Operation control.
- Review the result; select an error to jump to a malformed percent escape.
- Copy or download the converted text for use in your URL-building code.
Examples
Encode a query value
Spaces, the ampersand, the equals sign, and non-ASCII letters are encoded for one component.
name=Çağla & role=API developer
name%3D%C3%87a%C4%9Fla%20%26%20role%3DAPI%20developer
Decode a path segment
Decode mode restores the original slash and space as text.
release%20notes%2F2026
release notes/2026
Encode the part of a URL that contains data
A query parameter value can include spaces, an ampersand, or a non-ASCII name. Those characters need an unambiguous representation when the value is inserted into a URL. This tool uses component encoding: it converts reserved characters and UTF-8 bytes to percent escapes while leaving ordinary unreserved text readable. It is useful for testing a value before adding it to URLSearchParams or comparing what an API client sent.
Use Encode for the content of one query value or path segment. Do not encode a whole URL in one pass, because that would also escape the punctuation that separates the scheme, host, path, and query. When decoding, the tool checks percent escapes and UTF-8. A malformed sequence produces an error, rather than silently replacing it with another character. The error can be selected to move the editor cursor to the reported position.
Keep form encoding separate
HTML form submissions often use application/x-www-form-urlencoded, where a plus sign represents a space. This tool uses URL component rules, which encode a space as %20; it does not convert plus signs into spaces in Decode mode. If you are handling a complete form body, use a form parser that understands the field separators and plus-sign rule.
Input and output stay in the browser. Large values are processed in a Web Worker so editing remains responsive. The output panel scrolls internally, and Copy and Download use the full value even when a long preview is shortened.
Frequently asked questions
Should I paste an entire URL?
This tool handles one component. Encoding a complete URL would also escape separators such as slashes and question marks.
Does a space become a plus sign?
No. Component encoding writes a space as %20. Form encoding has different rules.
Can it decode Unicode text?
Yes. Valid UTF-8 percent sequences are decoded into Unicode characters. Invalid sequences produce an error.
What happens with a bad percent escape?
The error identifies the percent sign's line and column when its following digits are invalid.
Is the value uploaded?
No. Encoding and decoding run in your browser's worker.