URL Encode/Decode

This tool is useful when you need to make query parameters safe or decode an already encoded link fragment back into readable text. It is especially common when working with callback URLs, redirect targets, and search parameters.

Everything runs in the browser, so even sensitive link fragments can be inspected without sending them to a server.

When to use it

• When query strings contain spaces, non-English text, or special characters
• When you want to decode a callback URL and inspect the original value
• When you need to debug redirect parameters returned by another system

How to think about encode vs decode

URL strings are easier to handle correctly when you separate full URLs from individual parameter values.

• Encoding a full URL will also escape :, /, and ?
• If you only need a safe query value, encode the value fragment instead of the entire URL
• When decoding, make sure the input is actually encoded text before decoding again

Common mistakes

• Encoding a full URL and a single parameter value in the same way
• Double-encoding an already escaped value and ending up with %2520
• Mixing form-style + spacing with generic URL encoding without checking context
• Decoding a query value and then pasting it back into the original URL unchanged

Example input

https://zzzbbb.net/search?q=hello world

Example output

https%3A%2F%2Fzzzbbb.net%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dhello%20world