URL Encoder/Decoder

Why Encode & Decode URLs?

URLs can only contain a limited set of ASCII characters. Special characters like spaces, ampersands, and non-Latin letters must be percent-encoded before they can appear in a URL. Our tool makes it easy to encode text for use in query strings, decode percent-encoded URLs back to readable text, and switch between full URL encoding and component encoding.

Features

  • Encode Component — encodes all special characters including / ? # & (for query parameters and values).
  • Encode URI — encodes special characters but preserves URL structure characters like / : ? # &.
  • Decode Component — decodes all percent-encoded sequences.
  • Decode URI — decodes percent-encoded sequences while preserving URL structure.
  • Swap — move the output back to input for chained transformations.
  • Error handling — graceful feedback for malformed percent-encoded input.

How It Works

The tool uses JavaScript's built-in encodeURIComponent, encodeURI, decodeURIComponent, and decodeURI functions. The key difference is that encodeURIComponent encodes everything except letters, digits, and - _ . ~ , while encodeURI also preserves URL-structural characters like / : ? # [ ] @ ! $ & ' ( ) * + , ; =.

Common Use Cases

  • Encoding query string parameters that contain spaces or special characters.
  • Debugging URL-encoded API requests and webhook payloads.
  • Preparing redirect URLs with encoded return paths.
  • Decoding percent-encoded URLs from server logs or analytics tools.

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