URL Encoder / Decoder

What is percent-encoding?

URLs are only allowed to contain a limited set of characters. Percent-encoding (also called URL encoding) replaces any unsafe or reserved character with a % followed by its byte value in hexadecimal — so a space becomes %20, an ampersand becomes %26, and the Māori word kōrero becomes k%C5%8Drero. Decoding simply reverses that process back to readable text.

When do you need it?

Encode a value any time you drop free text into a URL: query parameters (like a search term), UTM campaign tags, redirect targets, API request strings, or any link that contains spaces, non-ASCII or reserved characters. Encoding keeps links from breaking when they are clicked, shared in messages, or parsed by analytics.

Component vs full URL

Encode component uses encodeURIComponent. It escapes reserved characters such as ? & = / # — perfect for a single query value or path segment you are inserting into a larger URL.

Encode full URL uses encodeURI. It leaves the URL structure (: / ? & = #) intact and only escapes the genuinely unsafe characters such as spaces — use it to tidy up a complete, already-structured link.

How to use this tool

1. Choose Encode or Decode.
2. For encoding, pick a scope — component for a value, full URL for a link.
3. Type or paste into Input; the output updates live.
4. Copy the result, Swap it back to the input, or Clear to start over.