Enter URL / string to decode

e.g., http://example.com/?test=100%25

Decoded URL / string

e.g., http://example.com/?test=100%

Configuration options:

How to use the URL decoder?

Follow below steps to quickly percent decode an encoded string or URL:

  • Step 1: Enter the string or URL in the textbox on left called “Enter URL / string to decode”.

  • Step 2: Click on the button “Decode” in between the two textboxes.

  • Step 3: At this point you should be able to see the decoding result in the textbox called “Decoded URL / string” on the right side of the page.

You can apply some customizations using different configuration options available on the page. See below for further details on each option.

  • Decode as I type: Turn on this toggle if you want to see the decoded version as soon as you type. This method completes the decoding using JavaScript on your local machine and does not require any data to be sent to our servers. The only drawback is that this operates best with UTF-8 character-set and thus conversion to other character-set before percent-decoding is not done.

  • Decode each line separately: If selected, each input line is decoded separately. Use this option if you have multiple URLs or strings that need to be percent-decoded.

  • Character-set: As our website uses the UTF-8 character set, all input data is transmitted in that format. You can select a different character-set if you want to convert the data to selected character set before decoding. Note that in case of the text data, the encoding scheme does not contain the character set, so you may have to specify the appropriate set during the decoding process as well.

    This option is only available if the “Decode as I type” option is disabled. This is as we need to send the data to our servers to perform the encoding change.

Is this URL decoder safe?

Possibly, the next important question is how safe is using our URL decoder and if we save any input data? Well, we do not save any input data because we do not need to store it for processing. We simply run our algorithms and return the output to you.

If you use the “Decode as I type?” option we don’t even need to send any data to our web servers, everything (input, output, configuration) remains on your browser only.

Moreover, we use HTTPS, which is a secure and encrypted way of sending data from your machine to our server for processing, this further helps to ensure that there is no chance of a middle-man seeing this data.

What is URL decoding?

In the world of web development, data transmission, and cybersecurity, encoded strings are a common occurrence. URLs, query parameters, and form data are often encoded using percent-encoding (also known as URL encoding) to ensure safe and accurate data transfer. However, interpreting and debugging such encoded strings can be challenging without a proper decoding tool.

Our online URL Decoder provides an efficient way to decode encoded strings accurately, handling common and edge cases while preserving data integrity. Whether you’re a developer debugging API responses, analyzing encoded payloads, or working with internationalized content, this tool can be invaluable.

URL decoding, officially known as percent-decoding, is the method of decoding percent-encoded data.

How does URL decoding work?

A URL decoder works by reversing the percent-encoding process, converting encoded characters back to their original form. It scans the input from left to right for sequences starting with % followed by two hexadecimal digits and replaces them with the corresponding ASCII or Unicode characters. In cases where double encoding is detected, a URL decoder may apply multiple decoding steps until the original readable text is fully restored. Advanced decoders such as this one also handle invalid or incomplete sequences by preserving them or converting them into a human-readable format rather than discarding them.

How can a URL decoder help?

A URL decoder is a very important tool that helps by converting percent encoded URLs or strings back into their original, human-readable form. URLs often contain special characters that must be encoded using percent encoding (e.g., %20 for a space, %3A for :). A URL decoder reverses this process.

A URL decoder finds application across software industry and various job roles that deal with URLs and need to transfer data between applications. Test engineers often require to encode/decode data containing URLs and tools as this one come to immediate rescue in such scenarios. Below are a few use-cases where URL decoders can save the day:

  • Reading Encoded URLs: Helps make URLs more readable by converting encoded characters back to their original form.

  • Debugging Web Requests: Developers can inspect and debug URLs used in APIs, redirects, and web forms.

  • Fixing Malformed URLs: Helps correct improperly encoded URLs that might break links or cause errors.

  • Extracting Query Parameters: Useful when working with search queries or analytics, as encoded parameters can be converted to their real values.

  • SEO & Marketing Analysis: Marketers and SEO specialists can decode tracking URLs to understand how parameters are structured.

Advanced Online URL Decoder
Advanced Online URL Decoder

How to encode a URL decoded string?

You can use our URL Encoder to encode any URL or string. This helps to make the URL compatible for transmission across different data systems, browsers, and APIs and is an extremely helpful tool for web developers and test engineers, or if you are just curious about how it all works.

URL decoding examples:

Here is an example of how a URL changes after percent-decoding:

  • Original URL: http://example.com/?score=100%25

  • After URL decoding: http://example.com/?score=100%

Let’s see another example, but this time with a string:

  • Original string: john.doe%40example.com

  • After Percent decoding: john.doe@example.com

URL Decoder FAQs:

If a string has been encoded multiple times, decoding it once may not restore the original text. In such cases, a second decoding step may be necessary. The decoding process stops after all existing encodings are decoded.

Most programming languages provide built-in functions for URL decoding:

  • PHP: rawurldecode($string);

  • JavaScript: decodeURIComponent(string);

  • Python: urllib.parse.unquote(string)

Yes, especially when dealing with invalid or improperly encoded sequences. Our decoder preserves such sequences instead of discarding them to ensure data integrity.

Our decoder ensures invalid UTF-8 sequences are preserved instead of being removed or replaced with unintended characters.

Yes, you can easily decode a percent-encoded URL. But, we recommend to use a URL decoder such as this one to do the same. As otherwise, this could be a slightly tedious and error-prone activity specifically while dealing with complex or long encoded strings/URLs.

References:

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