URL Encoder & Decoder

Safely encode URL parameters or decode complex links locally.

Input Text or URL

0 chars

Drop a .txt file or click to browse

Method

Encodes everything except letters, digits, and - _ . ! ~ * ' ( )

Result

Understanding URL Encoding

URLs can only be sent over the internet using the ASCII character set. If a URL contains spaces or special characters (like ? or &), it can break the link. URL Encoding replaces these unsafe characters with a "%" followed by two hexadecimal digits.

Safe & Private Decoding

Using our URL Decoder, you can paste messy, percent-encoded links and instantly read the actual parameters. Because ZeroServer runs entirely client-side, you can safely decode proprietary or sensitive links without fear of tracking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does a space become %20 in a URL?

URLs may only contain a safe subset of ASCII. Spaces and many other characters must be percent-encoded as %HH (hex byte value). Space = ASCII 32 = 0x20 → %20. In HTML form data, spaces are also encoded as +.

What's the difference between encodeURIComponent and encodeURI?

encodeURIComponent encodes everything except letters, digits, and -_.!~*'() — ideal for individual parameter values. encodeURI preserves URI structural characters (/ : ? & =), suitable for encoding a complete URL.

Should I encode my entire URL or just the query parameters?

Encode only the values within query parameters (encodeURIComponent). Encoding the full URL with encodeURI is correct when you have a complete URL whose path structure you don't want to break.

How do I decode a URL-encoded string in JavaScript?

Use decodeURIComponent('encoded+string') for query parameter values, or decodeURI() for full URLs. Both throw URIError on malformed sequences — always catch errors when decoding untrusted input.

Why does + sometimes mean space and sometimes a literal plus sign?

In application/x-www-form-urlencoded (HTML form posts), + means space. In standard percent-encoding (RFC 3986), + is a literal plus and space is %20. Use %20 for spaces when you need format-agnostic encoding.

Private & free — this tool runs entirely in your browser.