URL Encode / Decode
Percent-encode text for safe use in URLs, or decode encoded strings back to plain text. Free, UTF-8 safe, and private in your browser.
Percent-encode text so it is safe to place in a URL, or decode an encoded string back to something readable. A URL has reserved characters — space, ampersand, question mark, equals, hash — that carry meaning, so any of them appearing inside a value has to be escaped or the address is parsed differently from what you intended. It is the tool for a search term containing an ampersand, a filename with spaces, a callback URL that carries its own query string, or a parameter that arrived percent-encoded and is unreadable. Everything runs in the browser.
How to use URL Encode / Decode
- Paste the text or encoded string you want to convert.
- Click "Encode" to make it URL-safe, or "Decode" to read it back.
- Copy the result with the "Copy" button.
- Encode the individual parameter value rather than a whole address — encoding an entire URL escapes its separators and breaks it.
Who it is for
URL Encode / Decode is for putting arbitrary text into a URL safely, or reading one that came back encoded: a search term with an ampersand, a filename with spaces, a callback URL with its own query string, or a parameter that arrived percent-encoded and is unreadable.
How it works
- Characters that are unsafe in a URL are percent-encoded, including spaces, ampersands, question marks and non-ASCII characters.
- Decoding reverses that, turning percent escapes back into readable text.
- Everything happens in the browser, so a URL containing a token is not sent anywhere.
What it cannot do
- Encoding a whole URL will encode its separators too, which breaks it. Encode the parameter values, not an entire address.
- Plus signs mean a space only in form encoding, not in a URL path — a mismatch here is a classic source of broken links.
- Double-encoding is easy to do by accident: an already-encoded value encoded again produces %25 sequences that decode to something unexpected.
- It does not validate that the resulting URL resolves.
Frequently asked questions
When do I need URL encoding?
Whenever you put text into a URL — such as query parameters or search terms — special characters like spaces, &, ?, and = must be percent-encoded so the URL is interpreted correctly. A value containing an ampersand will otherwise behave as if it were two parameters.
What does %20 mean?
It is the percent-encoded form of a space. Encoding replaces unsafe characters with a % followed by their hexadecimal code so they cannot break the URL.
Why does a plus sign sometimes mean a space?
In form-encoded query strings a plus stands for a space, but in a URL path it is a literal plus. Mixing the two conventions is a classic cause of a link that works from one form and not another — decode first, then re-encode in the convention your destination expects.
Why is my URL double-encoded?
Because a value that was already encoded has been encoded again, turning % into %25. If a decode step shows %XX sequences rather than text, decode once more rather than encoding again.
Does it handle non-English characters?
Yes. Unicode characters are encoded using UTF-8 percent-encoding and decode back to the original text exactly, which is why a single accented letter becomes two or three %XX groups.
Is my input private?
Yes. Encoding and decoding are done locally in your browser and never sent to a server, so a URL containing a token or an API key is not exposed.