Encode and decode URLs with percent-encoding, analyze URL structure, and validate web addresses
URL encoding (percent-encoding) converts characters into a format that can be transmitted over the Internet. Special characters are replaced with a percent sign followed by two hexadecimal digits.
URL encoding (percent-encoding) converts characters into a format that can be safely transmitted over the internet. Special characters like spaces, symbols, and international characters are replaced with a percent sign (%) followed by two hexadecimal digits. This is necessary because URLs can only contain certain characters from the ASCII set. For example, a space becomes %20, and an @ symbol becomes %40.
Use URL encoding when: 1) Passing data in query parameters that contains special characters, 2) Including user input in URLs, 3) Working with form data in HTTP requests, 4) Handling international characters in URLs, 5) Building API requests with dynamic parameters. Any time you have special characters, spaces, or non-ASCII characters in a URL, they should be encoded.
URL encoding and URL escaping are often used interchangeably and refer to the same process - converting unsafe characters to percent-encoded format. However, 'encoding' is the more technically correct term according to web standards. Both terms describe the process of replacing special characters with %XX sequences where XX is the hexadecimal representation of the character.
Characters that must be encoded include: spaces, < > # % { } | \ ^ ~ [ ] `, and non-ASCII characters. Additionally, reserved characters like ? & = / : @ should be encoded when used as data rather than URL delimiters. Our tool automatically encodes all necessary characters for safe URL transmission.
To decode a URL: 1) Select the 'Decode' tab, 2) Paste your encoded URL or text with %XX sequences, 3) The tool automatically decodes it to readable text in real-time. The decoded result shows the original characters. For example, 'Hello%20World%21' decodes to 'Hello World!'. You can also analyze the URL structure if it's a complete URL.
Component encoding (encodeURIComponent) encodes all special characters including URL delimiters like / ? & =. This is used for individual query parameters or path segments. Full URL encoding (encodeURI) preserves URL structure characters like :// and / so the URL remains functional. Our tool uses component encoding, which is safer for individual values and parameters.
Yes! The tool fully supports international characters (Unicode) including Chinese, Arabic, Cyrillic, emoji, and other non-ASCII characters. These are converted to UTF-8 byte sequences and then percent-encoded. For example, the emoji '😀' becomes '%F0%9F%98%80'. This ensures international content can be safely transmitted in URLs.
Absolutely! All URL encoding and decoding happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your URLs and data are never uploaded to our servers or transmitted anywhere. The tool works completely offline after loading, ensuring your sensitive URLs, API keys, or private data remain secure on your device.