URL Encoder and Decoder

This is a free online tool to encode and decode http URLs. You can copy/paste your desired URL in below text field and hit Encode or Decode button.

URL encoding (also called as URL escaping) is used to represent special meaning characters in a URL. e.g. forward slash has a special meaning in HTTP URL. But in case your data contains a forward slash (/) and you want to send it without confusing the HTTP server then you need to send it as %2F instead of / . Simlarly there are many other special characters that cab used as part of HTTP URL format. Below sample list can give you a idea of what this means.

That is easy. Just type the character or a full string in the text box above and hit Encode button. You should be able to see the encoded value.

URL decoding is the reverse process of encoding. This is used by the HTTP server to get the real data value from encoded string.

Yes, everything encoded must be easily decoded as long as you know the characters used for encoding. In general any encoding/decoding (including URL encoding/decoding) is reversible both ways. Below are some key relations to rememeber about encoding and decoding.

• There is always a one to one mapping of encoding to decoding.
• Anything encoded can be decoded and anything decoded can be encoded.

No, the purpose of encoding is not security. It is used for avoiding ambiguity. If you require security of data consider encryption after encoding.

URL encoding is used for transfer of data using HTTP protocol. This is very common in any HTTP interaction using get method call.

Yes, URL encoding can be done in JavaScript using escape() function. This function is not deprecated since it has a misleading name. The community recomments to use encodeURI() or encodeURIComponent() instead.

This tool also uses JavaScript to do URL encoding. You can perform this encoding and decoding in any programming language.