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The URL encoder/decoder converts special characters in URLs to percent-encoded format and decodes them back. It supports both component-level and full URL encoding modes.

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Features

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Dual encoding modes

Choose between two JavaScript encoding functions: encodeURIComponent
  • Encodes all special characters including /, ?, &, =
  • Best for encoding query parameters, form data, or individual URL components
  • Most commonly used mode
encodeURI
  • Preserves URL structure characters like /, ?, &, =
  • Only encodes characters that would break URL syntax
  • Best for encoding complete URLs while maintaining their structure

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Interactive examples

The Examples popover provides real-world test cases:
  • Full URLs with query parameters
  • Text with emoji characters
  • Email addresses
  • JSON objects in URLs
Each example shows both encoded and decoded versions with descriptions.

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Swap functionality

Quickly reverse your input and output using the Swap button, making it easy to chain encode/decode operations.

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Common encodings reference

A built-in reference table displays the percent-encoded values for frequently used characters:
CharacterEncoded
Space%20
!%21
#%23
$%24
&%26
:%3A
=%3D
?%3F
@%40
And many more.

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Keyboard shortcuts

Accelerate your workflow:
  • Execute encoding/decoding
  • Copy output to clipboard
  • Clear all fields

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Use cases

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Encoding query parameters

Encode form data or search queries for URLs: 
Input: [email protected]
Output: user%40example.com

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Sharing URLs with special characters

Ensure URLs with spaces, ampersands, or other special characters work correctly: 
Input: https://example.com/path?query=value&foo=bar
Output: https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fpath%3Fquery%3Dvalue%26foo%3Dbar

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Debugging API requests

Decode URL-encoded responses from APIs to see the original values.

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Handling internationalization

Encode URLs containing Unicode characters: 
Input: Hello World! 👋
Output: Hello%20World%21%20%F0%9F%91%8B
When encoding full URLs, use encodeURI to preserve the URL structure. Use encodeURIComponent for individual components like query parameter values.

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How it works

The utility uses JavaScript’s standard encoding functions: encodeURIComponent mode:
  • Encodes characters using UTF-8 percent encoding
  • Reserved characters like =, &, + become %3D, %26, %2B
  • Suitable for encoding data that will be part of a URL
encodeURI mode:
  • Preserves valid URL characters (: / ? # [ ] @ ! $ & ’ ( ) * + , ; =)
  • Only encodes characters that are invalid in URLs
  • Suitable for encoding complete URL strings
Decoding:
  • Uses decodeURIComponent to convert percent-encoded strings back to UTF-8
  • Handles all encoded characters automatically
The character reference table at the bottom helps you quickly identify what specific characters encode to.

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Error handling

The utility displays error messages when:
  • Input contains invalid escape sequences during decoding
  • Malformed percent-encoded strings are provided
  • Base64 encoder - For binary-safe text encoding
  • Color converter - For encoding color values in URLs

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