URL Encoder / Decoder
Percent-encode and decode URLs and query values instantly, with separate handling for full addresses and individual parameters.
Mode
Your encoded text
Paste a URL or query value to percent-encode it safely, or decode one you've been given.
How it works
URL encoding — properly called percent-encoding — turns characters that would confuse a web address into safe %XX sequences. It's the reason a search for "fish & chips" arrives intact rather than being chopped in half at the ampersand.
How it works
- Each unsafe character is converted to its UTF-8 bytes.
- Each byte becomes
%followed by two hexadecimal digits. - Unreserved characters — letters, digits and
- _ . ~— are left alone. - Decoding reverses the process, reassembling bytes back into characters.
Choose Component when encoding a value that sits inside a query string, and Full URL when encoding an entire address whose structure must survive.
A worked example
Passing a redirect target as a parameter is the classic case. The raw value https://site.com/a?b=1 must be encoded to https%3A%2F%2Fsite.com%2Fa%3Fb%3D1 before it can sit inside ?next=. Skip that step and the receiving server sees two competing query strings and drops everything after the second question mark.
How to interpret your result
Encoded output should contain only letters, digits, % and the unreserved marks. If you see %25 where you expected %, your input was already encoded and you've double-encoded it. Decoding twice returns the original.
Common real-world uses
- Building search and filter links with user-entered text.
- Passing redirect URLs and OAuth callbacks as parameters.
- Debugging tracking links and UTM campaign values.
- Reading encoded URLs from server logs and analytics reports.
- Preparing API query strings by hand while testing.
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