JustUtils
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URL Encoder & Decoder

Make text safe for a URL—or turn percent codes back into readable text. Your result updates as you type.

What do you want to do?

What are you working with?

Paste only the value you want to transform.

0 chars
0 UTF-8 bytes

URL-safe result

Updates instantly—no submit button needed.

0 chars
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Processed only in this browser

Percent-encoding made practical

Tell the tool whether you have one value or the complete URL.

URLs use characters such as ?, &, =, /, and # as instructions. When one of those characters belongs to the data instead, it must be percent-encoded so a browser or server does not mistake it for a separator. The tool makes that boundary explicit: choose one value for strict component encoding, or a complete URL to preserve its structure.

  1. 01

    Choose the right scope

    Select one URL value for a search phrase or path segment, or complete URL when you pasted the entire address.

  2. 02

    Encode once

    Paste the readable value and keep the percent signs in the result. Avoid encoding an already encoded value.

  3. 03

    Assemble and test

    Place the result back into the URL, open it, and confirm the receiving page reads the intended value.

Worked examples

These small examples show the exact transformation, including the characters that are easy to overlook.

A search query with spaces and an ampersand

Input
tea & coffee
Result
tea%20%26%20coffee

Encoding the ampersand keeps it inside the search value instead of starting another query parameter.

A Unicode path or query value

Input
กรุงเทพ
Result
%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%9E

Each Thai character becomes one or more UTF-8 bytes, and every byte is written as a percent followed by two hexadecimal digits.

Understand the format

A percent sequence represents a byte.

Percent-encoding writes a byte as % followed by two hexadecimal digits. ASCII letters and numbers usually remain readable, while spaces, Unicode bytes, and reserved punctuation may be escaped.

The correct boundary matters. Component mode encodes reserved punctuation when it belongs to one value. Complete URL mode preserves structural separators while still encoding spaces and Unicode characters that need safe transport.

Useful for

  • Preparing a search term or filter value for a URL query string.
  • Inspecting a callback parameter that contains percent-encoded text.
  • Making a filename or path segment safe without manually replacing each special character.

Check before you copy

  • Do not repeatedly encode the same value. A percent sign may become %25, producing double-encoded text such as %2520.
  • Encoding does not make untrusted input safe for HTML, SQL, or shell commands; each destination needs its own validation and escaping.
  • URLs can appear in browser history, logs, analytics, and referrer headers. Do not put passwords or long-lived secrets in a query string.

Common questions

Answers for first-time users

Why does a space become %20?

A literal space is not safe in every URL context, so percent-encoding represents its UTF-8 byte as %20. HTML form encoding sometimes uses a plus sign for a space, but this tool follows encodeURIComponent and returns %20.

Should I encode an entire URL?

Choose “A complete URL” when you need to keep separators such as colon, slash, question mark, and equals sign intact. Choose “One URL value” for a query value, filename, or path segment that may contain those same characters as data.

Why does decoding fail on a stray percent sign?

A percent sign must be followed by two hexadecimal digits, such as %20. An incomplete sequence like %2 or a non-hex sequence like %ZZ is malformed and cannot be decoded reliably.

Does JustUtils store the URL or text I enter?

No. The browser performs the encoding and decoding. Be careful when copying a finished URL into a message or ticket because its query string may still reveal sensitive values.