URL Encoder / Decoder
Encode or decode a URL or query-string with full support for reserved characters, UTF-8 and both encodeURI and encodeURIComponent modes.
What is the URL Encoder / Decoder?
The URL Encoder / Decoder converts text to and from percent-encoded form: spaces become %20, ampersands become %26, and non-ASCII characters are escaped as UTF-8 sequences so they survive inside URLs and query strings.
Percent encoding represents bytes with a percent sign followed by two hexadecimal digits. It prevents spaces, Unicode text and delimiter characters inside a value from being misread by URL parsers, but it does not hide the original content.
Two modes match the two JavaScript functions: "Component" (encodeURIComponent) escapes everything and is right for query values; "Full URL" (encodeURI) preserves reserved characters like /, ? and & so a whole URL keeps working. Decode mode reverses valid escape sequences and reports malformed input rather than silently returning misleading text.
How to use the URL Encoder / Decoder
- 1Paste the text or URL you want to encode or decode.
- 2Pick a mode: Component for individual values, Full URL for complete URLs.
- 3Click "Encode" or "Decode" and copy the result.
When to use the URL Encoder / Decoder
- Encode a search phrase or redirect target before inserting it as one query parameter.
- Decode a copied analytics or callback URL to inspect its readable parameter values.
- Prepare Unicode filenames, emoji or non-Latin text for safe use in a URL component.
- Compare full-URL and component encoding while debugging a web application integration.
Key features
- Component and full-URL modes
- UTF-8 aware (correctly encodes é, ñ, 中文, emojis)
- Reports invalid percent sequences on decode
- Handles multi-line input
Important notes
- Percent-encoding is a formatting step, not encryption — it makes text safe to put in a URL, but anyone can decode it.
- Encoding a full URL and encoding a single query-string value are different: use component encoding for individual values so characters like & and = are escaped correctly.
- Everything runs in your browser, so the text you encode or decode is never uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
Which mode should I use for query strings?
Component — reserved characters inside a value must be escaped so they do not break the query parser.
Is URL encoding a security or encryption method?
No. Anyone can decode percent-encoded text. Do not use it to protect passwords, tokens or private data.
Why does %20 sometimes appear as a plus sign?
HTML form encoding often represents spaces as +, while general URL percent encoding uses %20. The conventions overlap but are not identical.
What causes a decoding error?
A stray percent sign, missing hexadecimal digits or invalid UTF-8 byte sequence can make encoded input malformed. Correct the source instead of guessing the intended characters.
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