Developer & Data
URL Encoder
Safely encode special characters for URLs, or decode them back to readable text.
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How to encode and decode URLs
- Step 1: Paste your URL, query parameters, or string into the text box.
- Step 2: Choose Encode to replace unsafe characters with percent-encoding (%20, etc.), or Decode to restore readable text.
- Step 3: Copy the normalized, web-safe URL string for use in API requests or web links.
URL percent-encoding features
- Standard RFC 3986 percent-encoding for URI components and query strings.
- Accurately handles international Unicode characters, spaces, ampersands, and punctuation marks.
- Option to toggle between encodeURI (preserving full URLs) and encodeURIComponent (for query values).
- 1-click copy action for immediate integration into developer workflows.
Frequently asked questions
Why is URL encoding necessary?
URLs can only contain standard ASCII characters. Spaces and reserved symbols like question marks and ampersands must be encoded to prevent broken links.
What is the difference between encodeURI and encodeURIComponent?
encodeURI leaves protocol delimiters (: / ?) intact for full web addresses, while encodeURIComponent encodes everything, making it safe for query parameters.
How does space encoding differ between percent and plus?
In standard URL path encoding spaces become %20, whereas in form-urlencoded query strings they may be represented by a plus sign (+).