URL Encoder/Decoder

URL encoding, also called percent-encoding, converts characters that need special handling in a URL into a percent sign followed by hexadecimal values. For example, a space can become %20, while an ampersand can become %26. URL decoding reverses this process and turns percent-encoded text back into readable characters.

A URL Encoder & Decoder is useful when you are working with query parameters, API requests, redirect URLs, search links, form data, or text containing spaces and special characters. Use the encoder when preparing data for a URL and the decoder when you need to inspect or recover readable text from an encoded value.

Using the AabiTech URL Encoder & Decoder is straightforward:

1. Enter or paste your text, URL, or encoded string into the input area.
2. Choose whether you want to encode or decode.
3. For encoding, make sure the input represents the type of URL data you are working with.
4. Review the converted result.
5. Copy the result and use it in your URL, query parameter, application, or code.

For a single query parameter value, component-style encoding is generally appropriate because characters such as &, =, ?, and / can otherwise be interpreted as part of the surrounding URL structure. For a complete URL, the structural characters need to remain meaningful.

URL encoding changes text into percent-encoded form.

For example:

hello world & students

becomes:

hello%20world%20%26%20students

URL decoding performs the reverse conversion:

hello%20world%20%26%20students

becomes:

hello world & students

Encoding is commonly needed when inserting user-entered data into a URL. Decoding is useful when inspecting query parameters, redirect URLs, API data, browser-generated links, or other strings containing percent-encoded characters.

JavaScript provides two commonly encountered functions for URI encoding: encodeURI() and encodeURIComponent(). They are not interchangeable.

encodeURI()

Use it when working with a complete URL whose structural characters should remain intact.

Example:

https://example.com/search?q=hello world

can become:

https://example.com/search?q=hello%20world

encodeURIComponent()

Use it when encoding an individual value that will be placed inside a URL.

Example:

hello & world

becomes:

hello%20%26%20world

The distinction is important. Encoding an entire URL with component encoding can encode characters such as : and /, while failing to encode a parameter value can allow characters such as & to be interpreted as URL delimiters.

Percent encoding represents characters using % followed by hexadecimal digits. Some common examples are:

The exact characters that should be encoded depend on where the value occurs in a URL.

A space is commonly represented as %20 in percent encoding.

For example:

hello world becomes hello%20world.

In application/x-www-form-urlencoded form data, spaces can instead be represented by +. These are related but context-dependent conventions; a + should not automatically be treated as a space in every URL context.

This distinction is especially important when debugging query strings and form submissions.

Invalid percent sequence

A percent-encoded sequence normally has % followed by two hexadecimal characters. A value such as %2G is invalid because G is not a hexadecimal digit.

Unencoded ampersand

If an ampersand is part of a parameter's value, it may need encoding as %26. Otherwise, it can be interpreted as the separator between query parameters.

Encoding a complete URL as a component

Applying component encoding to an entire URL can encode characters such as : and /, producing something like https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com when an intact URL was required.

Double encoding

If %20 becomes %2520, the percent character has itself been encoded as %25. This is a common indication that a value has been encoded more than once.

Double encoding occurs when an already encoded value is encoded again.

For example:

hello world first becomes hello%20world.

If that result is encoded again, the percent character can become %25, producing:

hello%2520world

When decoding, one pass can restore %20; another pass can restore the original space.

If you see %25 immediately before what looks like an encoded sequence, check whether the value has been encoded more than once.

URL encoding is commonly useful when working with:

• Search queries
• Query-string parameters
• API requests
• Redirect URLs
• Callback URLs
• Web forms
• Tracking parameters
• UTM URLs
• User-entered text in URLs
• Unicode and non-English text
• URLs containing special characters

It is particularly important when data contains characters that already have structural meaning in a URL, such as &, =, ?, #, or /.

The AabiTech URL Encoder & Decoder processes URL data in the browser rather than requiring the text to be uploaded to a server.

This is useful when working with URLs containing query parameters, private application information, or other data that you prefer to keep within your browser session.

For highly sensitive credentials, tokens, passwords, or authentication information, users should still avoid pasting secrets into any third-party website unless they understand and trust its processing model.