URL Encoder and Decoder guide
Encode text for use inside a URL component or decode percent-encoded text back into readable Unicode.
What this tool does
The URL Encoder applies the browser’s standard URI-component encoding rules. Characters that have structural meaning in a URL, including spaces, ampersands, slashes, question marks, and non-ASCII characters, are represented using percent-encoded UTF-8 bytes where required. Decode mode reverses a valid encoded component.
This tool is designed for a component such as one query value, path segment, filter name, or redirect parameter. It deliberately uses component encoding rather than encoding an entire URL. Encoding a complete address would also escape separators such as : and /, making the result inconvenient as a normal clickable address.
For example, the value blue shoes & boots becomes blue%20shoes%20%26%20boots. When that value is inserted into a query parameter, the ampersand remains data instead of being mistaken for the beginning of another parameter.
How to use it
- Select Encode or Decode.
- Paste a URL component into the input field.
- Select the conversion button.
- Check the output, then copy it to the clipboard.
- Test the completed URL in the application that will consume it.
Decode mode rejects incomplete percent sequences and byte combinations that are not valid for the browser decoder. If decoding fails, check for a lone percent sign, truncated escape, or a value that was never encoded in the first place.
Benefits
- Uses the browser’s standard UTF-8 URI-component behavior
- Handles spaces, symbols, and international characters
- Supports both encoding and decoding
- Shows invalid encoded input instead of returning a misleading result
- Keeps input and output entirely on the device
Component encoding versus form encoding
URI component encoding represents spaces as %20. Traditional HTML form query encoding often represents spaces with a plus sign. A plus sign is not automatically converted to a space by decodeURIComponent, because that substitution belongs to form parsing rather than core URI decoding. If you are debugging submitted form data, confirm which convention the sending system uses.
Encoding also does not validate whether a completed URL points to a safe or existing destination. Treat decoded redirect links and unfamiliar parameters carefully, especially when they came from untrusted messages.
Use the Query String Parser when you need to decode every key and preserve repeated values from a complete query. Use the URL Parser when you need the address split into protocol, host, path, query, and fragment components.