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URL ENCODER

Safely encode or decode URLs and query parameters. Everything happens instantly in your browser.

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What is URL Encoding?

URL encoding (percent-encoding) converts characters with special URL meanings into safe percent-hexadecimal format. For example, a space becomes %20, an ampersand becomes %26. This is necessary because URLs can only contain a limited ASCII character set, and characters like spaces, ampersands, and hash symbols have reserved meanings in the URL specification (RFC 3986). Without proper encoding, query parameters containing these characters would break URL structure.

Why Use Our URL Encoder?

Developers working with APIs frequently need to encode query parameters, debug encoded URLs, or decode percent-encoded strings. Our tool provides instant bidirectional conversion. All processing happens locally, which is important when working with URLs containing API keys, authentication tokens, or sensitive parameters that should not be exposed to third-party servers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is encodeURI vs. encodeURIComponent?

encodeURI preserves characters with special URL meaning (like ://?#). encodeURIComponent encodes everything except letters and digits, making it suitable for individual query parameter values. Our tool uses encodeURIComponent for thorough encoding.

Why do I see %20 instead of spaces?

The %20 is the percent-encoded representation of a space. URLs cannot contain literal spaces. Some systems use + for spaces in query strings, but %20 is universally correct.

Can I encode non-English characters?

Yes. Non-ASCII characters are converted to UTF-8 bytes, then each byte is percent-encoded. This ensures compatibility with any server supporting UTF-8.

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