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Everyday Tools

URL Encode / Decode

Encode strings for safe use in URLs — or decode percent-encoded text back to plain.

Runs locally·Free, no signup·Updated May 6, 2026
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How it works

A walkthrough, end to end.

  1. 1

    Paste your text or URL fragment.

  2. 2

    Pick encode (text → %XX form) or decode (%XX → text).

  3. 3

    Choose component encoding (encodeURIComponent) for safe query parameters.

Reference

Percent encoding

RFC 3986 percent-encoding maps unsafe characters to %XX hex. Spaces become %20 (or + in form data).

Use cases

What you can do with this.

Query parameters

Encode user input before adding to a URL.

API requests

Properly escape special characters in REST URLs.

Reading server logs

Decode raw URLs to read them.

Mailto links

Encode subject and body parameters.

Sharing URLs in chat

Some apps mangle special characters; encode first.

Form data debugging

Inspect application/x-www-form-urlencoded payloads.

Building deep links

Encode parameters for app deep-link URLs.

URL encoding 2026 — what's current

RFC 3986 still standard; calculator wins for instant testing.

FAQ

Frequently asked.

  • encodeURIComponent escapes more chars (?, =, &) — use it for query parameters. encodeURI preserves URI structure.

  • No. Encoding/decoding runs locally.

  • Toggle 'form data' mode to treat + as space.

  • Invalid percent sequences show an error message.