URL Decoder

Percent escapes back into readable text.

FREE · NO SIGN-UP · RUNS ON YOUR DEVICE

Your text stays on your device

  • 2DIRECTIONS
  • 1ERROR POSITION
  • 0SIGN-UP
  • 1TAP TO COPY
Specification

URL Decoder at a glance

Opens on
Decode by default
Handles
Paths and queries
Unicode
Unicode safe
Bad input
Position reported
Encoding back
Encodes too
Price
Free
Account required
None
Where it runs
On your device
How to

How to use URL Decoder

  1. 1

    Paste the encoded text

    Paste the text.

  2. 2

    Read the result

    Read the result.

  3. 3

    Copy it

    Copy it.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What does percent twenty mean?

It is a space. Percent encoding writes a character as a percent sign followed by its two-digit hexadecimal value, and twenty is the space.

Why did my decode fail?

A percent sign was not followed by two valid hexadecimal digits. The message gives the character position so you can find it.

Does it handle accents and Chinese?

Yes. Those characters are encoded as several escapes in a row, and the whole sequence is decoded back correctly.

Can I encode as well?

Yes. Switch the direction on the same panel and choose whether you are encoding one value or a whole address.

Background

Reading percent escapes

The panel opens on decode. Paste an encoded address or query value and the readable version appears underneath as you type, with a switch back to encoding.

  • Percent twenty is a space, percent three A is a colon and percent two F is a slash.
  • A character outside the plain ASCII range becomes several escapes in a row, one per byte.
  • Text that decodes into more percent escapes was encoded twice and needs decoding again.
  • A plus sign in a query string may mean a space in form data, which is a different format from URL encoding.

Full specification

Specification of the URL Decoder tool
Opens onDecode, with a switch to encoding on the same panel.
HandlesPercent escapes anywhere in a path, a query value or a whole address.
UnicodeMulti-byte escapes are decoded correctly, so accents and Chinese come back whole.
Bad inputA broken percent escape is reported by character position, not as a trace.
Encoding backThe same panel encodes, with a choice of one value or a whole URL.
PriceFree. Supported by clearly labelled ads placed outside the working area.
Account requiredNo.
Where it runsIn your browser tab. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Next step

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