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URL Encoder / Decoder

Safely encode special characters in URLs or decode percent-encoded query strings back to clean text.

Plain Text 0 chars
Encoded Output

Enter text above to see the encoded result

Base64 Encoder / Decoder

Encode text to Base64 or decode Base64 strings back to text →

All URL encoding and decoding happens locally in your browser. Your data is never sent to any server, cached, or stored. Full UTF-8/Unicode support.

URL encoding (also known as percent-encoding) is the standard mechanism for encoding special characters in web addresses and query strings. Whether you are debugging an API call, constructing a query parameter, or decoding a cryptic URL, our free URL encoder and decoder makes it simple. Choose between Component mode (encodes every special character, best for query parameters) or Full URL mode (preserves structural characters like :// and ? for complete URLs). All processing runs locally in your browser.

What Is URL Encoding?

URL encoding replaces unsafe ASCII characters with a % followed by two hexadecimal digits representing the character's byte value. For example, a space becomes %20. This ensures that URLs remain valid across the internet, since characters like spaces, quotes, and non-ASCII symbols would otherwise break the URL syntax. The standard is defined in RFC 3986 and is automatically handled by all web browsers and HTTP clients.

How to Use the URL Encoder / Decoder

  1. Choose your mode — Select Encode to convert text to a URL-safe format, or Decode to convert percent-encoded strings back to readable text.
  2. Select encoding scope — Use Component for individual query parameters or path segments, or Full URL to encode/decode an entire URL while preserving its structure.
  3. Enter your input — Type or paste the content into the input textarea. The output updates instantly as you type.
  4. Swap, copy, or download — Send output to input with Swap, copy to clipboard, or download as a text file.

Component vs Full URL

  • Component mode uses encodeURIComponent / decodeURIComponent — encodes every character with special meaning in a URL, including / ? & = #. Best for encoding individual query parameter values or hash fragments.
  • Full URL mode uses encodeURI / decodeURI — preserves structural characters so that a complete URL like https://example.com/path?name=value remains functional after encoding.

Key Features

  • Real-Time Conversion

    Encode and decode instantly as you type.

  • Component & Full URL Modes

    Two encoding scopes for different use cases.

  • Unicode Support

    Handles UTF-8 characters, emojis, and international scripts.

  • Smart Swap

    Send output to input and flip modes instantly.

  • Error Handling

    Clear error messages for malformed percent-encoded input.

  • 100% Private

    All processing is client-side. Nothing is uploaded.

Common Use Cases

  • Query Parameters: Encode user input containing special characters before appending it to a URL's query string to prevent broken links.
  • API Debugging: Decode percent-encoded parameters from REST or GraphQL request URLs to inspect their actual values.
  • OAuth & SSO: Decode redirect_uri and callback parameters to troubleshoot authentication flows.
  • Web Scraping: Extract and decode URLs from HTML attributes, JavaScript redirects, or sitemap XML files.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Component and Full URL mode?
Component encodes every special character including / ? & =, making it ideal for individual parameter values. Full URL leaves URL-structural characters intact, so a complete web address remains valid after encoding.
When should I URL-encode a string?
Always encode user-generated or dynamic content before inserting it into a URL. This prevents broken links, malformed query strings, and security issues like injection attacks through URL parameters.
Does URL encoding work for non-Latin characters?
Yes. Characters like Chinese, Arabic, or Cyrillic text are first UTF-8 encoded, then each resulting byte is percent-encoded. For example, the character 中 becomes %E4%B8%AD.
Why do I see %2F instead of a slash?
%2F is the percent-encoded form of /. In Component mode, forward slashes are encoded to prevent them from being interpreted as path separators. In Full URL mode, slashes are preserved.

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