URL Encoder & Decoder
Encode and decode URLs and query parameters. Choose component-level or full URI scope.
01Why this URL tool
Encode URLs correctly.
Four reasons backend devs, QA, and analysts keep this page open instead of guessing in DevTools.
- 01
Encode and decode both directions
Percent-encode a raw string for a URL, or decode an %20-heavy one back into readable text. The same panel handles both with a tab toggle.
- 02
Whole URL or just a component
Encode an entire URL safely or just the query value. The tool distinguishes between encodeURI and encodeURIComponent so you get the right escaping for each spot.
- 03
Live updates as you type
No button to click. Paste in and the converted version appears next to it instantly. Edit either side; the result follows.
- 04
Strings stay in your browser
URLs sometimes contain customer IDs, tokens, or internal paths. Nothing here leaves your machine, because the encoding runs locally.
02How it works
Pick a side, paste, copy.
- ModeEncodeDecode
Step 1Pick encode or decode
A tab at the top — encode for raw text → URL-safe, decode for the reverse. Switch any time without losing your input.
- Input1hello & goodbye
Step 2Paste the string
Drop in a raw query value, a full URL, or a percent-encoded mess. The tool handles all three.
- CopiedEncodedhello%20%26%20goodbyeURL · ready
Step 3Copy the result
Output updates in real time. Click Copy and paste it into your URL, your config, your fetch call.
03Use cases
Where URL encoding bites.
Most URL bugs come down to a missing or doubled-up encoding step. These are the recurring ones.
Encode a search query string
User typed 'hello & goodbye'. Drop into the encoder, get 'hello%20%26%20goodbye' safe for a query parameter.
hello & goodbye → hello%20%26%20goodbyeRead a noisy redirect URL
Affiliate links nest URLs inside URLs. Decode to see the real destination before you click.
Encoded redirect → readable URLBuild a curl request
Hand-crafting a curl with special characters in the path. Encode each component cleanly so the server sees what you meant.
Path with spaces → escaped pathEncode tokens for query strings
An auth token contains +/= that mean something else in URLs. Encode before appending to make sure the server gets the right value.
Token → URL-safe tokenDecode a captured request
Network tab in DevTools shows a URL-encoded body. Decode to see what the form actually submitted.
Form body → readable fieldsDebug routing
Route matching failing? Decode the URL the framework sees to spot extra escaping that's tripping the regex.
Encoded URL → matched route
04Quick tips
Encode with intent.
A few rules that save the recurring URL-bug class.
- 01
Encode components, not full URLs (usually)
encodeURIComponent escapes everything special, which is what you want for query values. encodeURI leaves /:?# alone — useful for whole URLs, not their parts.
- 02
Encode non-ASCII safely
Special characters and emoji UTF-8-encode into multiple %XX sequences. The tool handles all of that without breaking.
- 03
Spaces vs +
Older form encoding turns spaces into '+'. Modern URL encoding turns them into '%20'. The tool uses %20 — usually the right choice.
- 04
URL encoding is not security
Like Base64, this is encoding, not encryption. Anyone can decode it. Don't rely on it to hide secrets.
05Loved by
Backend, QA, and analysts.
Building curl commands all day. Encode the query param here, paste, run. Avoids the 'why does my server see two halves of the value' bug.
Spotted a routing issue by decoding the URL devtools showed. The frontend was double-encoding. Took five minutes after I had readable text.
Decoding tracking URLs to see what UTM parameters they actually carry. Faster than browsing through Chrome extensions.
06Questions
URL encoding, plainly answered.
What people check before their first encode. Anything missing? hello@wirelogs.com.
01What does percent encoding do?
Replaces characters that have special meaning in URLs (or aren't safe in them) with %XX hex sequences. Spaces become %20, & becomes %26, and so on. It lets arbitrary text ride safely inside a URL.
02When should I encode the whole URL vs just a component?
Encode a component (a query value, a path segment) with encodeURIComponent — it escapes /:?#& which have meaning in the URL structure. Encode a full URL with encodeURI — it leaves the structural characters alone.
03Will this corrupt non-English text?
No. UTF-8 sequences encode into multiple %XX bytes per character and decode back to the original cleanly. Emoji, accents, Japanese, Cyrillic — all round-trip exactly.
04Is the tool free?
Yes. No usage cap, no watermark, no sign-up. Encode and decode as often as you need.
05Does my data leave the browser?
No. Encoding and decoding use the built-in encodeURIComponent / decodeURIComponent functions. Wirelogs never sees the URL — sensitive paths and tokens stay private.
Ready when you are
Get the URL right.
Drop your string or URL into the tool above and copy the encoded or decoded version. Nothing uploads anywhere.
- UTF-8safe
- Localprivate
- $0now and always