URL Encoder / Decoder
Encode special characters in URLs or decode percent-encoded URLs. Handles full URLs and individual query parameters.
Component: encodes everything including /, ?, &, = — use for query values. Full URL: preserves /, ?, &, = — use for complete URLs.
How to Use
- 1
Choose mode
Select Encode to percent-encode a URL or Decode to decode one.
- 2
Choose encode type
Use Component for query parameter values, or Full URL to encode a complete URL while keeping structure intact.
- 3
Copy the result
The encoded or decoded output appears instantly. Click Copy to use it.
How It Works
This tool encodes special characters in URLs (percent-encoding) or decodes an already-encoded URL back to readable text, handling both full URLs and individual query parameter values.
What percent-encoding solves
URLs can only safely contain a limited set of characters — spaces, special symbols, and non-ASCII characters must be replaced with a % followed by their hex code (e.g. a space becomes %20) so the URL remains valid and unambiguous across browsers and servers.
Full URL encoding vs. component encoding
Full URL encoding preserves structural characters like /, ?, &, and = so the overall URL structure stays intact — appropriate when encoding an entire URL. Component encoding instead encodes everything, including those structural characters — appropriate specifically for a single query parameter's value, so that a value containing an & or = doesn't accidentally get interpreted as a separate parameter or break the URL structure.
Examples
Encoding a search query parameter
A search term like "pizza & pasta" needs component encoding to become "pizza%20%26%20pasta" before being safely placed into a query string like ?q=pizza%20%26%20pasta — otherwise the & would be misread as separating two different parameters.
Decoding a URL from a browser address bar
A URL copied from a browser sometimes shows encoded characters like %2F or %3A — decoding it reveals the original readable path or parameter value.
Common Use Cases
- Safely encoding user input or special characters before inserting them into a URL
- Decoding an encoded URL to read its actual intended content
- Preparing a query parameter value that itself contains reserved characters like & or =
Tips
- Use component encoding (not full URL encoding) whenever you're encoding a single value that will be placed inside a query parameter — this is the single most common URL-encoding mistake, since forgetting it can silently break a URL's parameter parsing.
- Double-encoding is a common bug — if a value is already encoded and gets encoded again, % itself gets encoded (to %25), corrupting the URL rather than fixing it. Check whether your input is already encoded before encoding it again.
Frequently Asked Questions
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