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Free Developer Tool - runs 100% in your browser

URL Encoder / Decoder

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URL encode and decode online

This URL encoder/decoder converts text to percent-encoded form and back. URLs can only carry a limited set of ASCII characters - spaces, ampersands, question marks, slashes and non-Latin characters must be escaped as %XX hex sequences (with UTF-8 characters becoming multiple bytes, e.g.é%C3%A9). Get it wrong and query parameters break, links 404, and APIs misinterpret your data.

Component vs full-URL encoding

The tool offers both JavaScript encoding modes, and picking the right one matters:

  • Component mode (encodeURIComponent) - escapes everything reserved, including / ? & = #. Use it for a single query-string value, like a search term or a redirect URL inside a parameter.
  • Full URL mode (encodeURI) - keeps URL structure characters intact and only escapes what's invalid. Use it to sanitize a complete URL without destroying its path and query separators.

Common uses

  • Building query strings by hand: ?q=hello%20world&city=S%C3%A3o%20Paulo.
  • Decoding tracking URLs and redirect_uri parameters to see where they actually point.
  • Debugging webhooks and form posts sent as application/x-www-form-urlencoded (where spaces may appear as + - this decoder handles that too).

Everything happens locally in your browser. Working with encoded payloads inside URLs? Pair this with theBase64 decoder or the JWT decoder.

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