How to URL-Encode and Decode Strings and URLs
Free, step-by-step guide. No signup needed — everything runs in your browser.
1
Open the URL Encoder/Decoder
Navigate to the tool. No signup, nothing to install.
2
Pick a mode
Toggle between Encode (plain text → percent-encoded) and Decode (percent-encoded → plain text).
3
Choose scope
Component encodes everything including / and ?. Full URL preserves structural characters. Use Component for query values, Full for whole URLs.
4
Paste your input
The output appears live in the second box. Hit Swap to send output to input for round-trip testing, or Copy to clipboard.
Tips for best results
- Use Component scope (encodeURIComponent) for query string values — it encodes & and = so they do not break the URL structure.
- Use Full URL scope (encodeURI) only when encoding an entire URL that already has structure — it leaves /, ?, &, = intact.
- Spaces become %20 in URL paths, but + in form-encoded query strings. We use %20 since it works in both contexts.
- Decoding throws clear errors on malformed escape sequences (like a stray % followed by non-hex). The tool reports the failure explicitly.
- For API debugging: paste a failing URL into Decode to see exactly what characters your client encoded incorrectly.
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Encode and decode URLs instantly. Free, no signup, 100% private.
Open URL Encoder/Decoder