URL Encoder/Decoder
Encode or decode URL components for safe web transmission.
How to Use
Paste URL or text
Enter the URL or text to encode/decode.
Choose operation
Select encode or decode.
Copy result
Copy the processed output.
Features
Frequently Asked Questions
URL encoding converts special characters into a format that can be safely transmitted in URLs. Spaces become %20, for example.
URLs have strict rules about which characters are allowed. Our URL encoder/decoder converts special characters to their percent-encoded equivalents (like space to %20) and back, ensuring your URLs work correctly across all browsers, APIs, and web services without breaking.
Did You Know?
URL encoding is also called 'percent encoding' because special characters are replaced with a % followed by two hexadecimal digits. The encoding scheme was defined in 1994 as part of RFC 1738. Interestingly, the + sign for spaces only works in query strings - in the path portion, spaces must be %20!
Pro Tips
- Encode only the query string values, not the entire URL - encoding slashes and colons breaks URLs
- Use encodeURIComponent() for query parameters and encodeURI() for full URLs in JavaScript
- Double-encoding (encoding already encoded text) is a common bug - decode first if unsure
Common Use Cases
- Passing special characters in API query parameters
- Creating shareable links with dynamic content
- Encoding file names with spaces for web downloads
- Debugging malformed URLs from logs or user reports
- Building OAuth and authentication redirect URLs
Best Practices
- Always URL-encode user input before including in URLs to prevent injection attacks
- Be consistent with encoding - mixing encoded and decoded strings causes bugs
- Test URLs with special characters like &, =, ?, and # which have special meaning
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