URL Encode / Decode
Percent-encode or decode a URL component.
When To Use URL Encoding
URL encoding keeps special characters safe inside query strings and path segments. It is especially useful when values include spaces, punctuation, or symbols.
- Prepare query parameter values before building API request URLs.
- Decode copied links to inspect readable parameter values.
- Troubleshoot malformed requests caused by unsafe characters.
About Percent-Encoding
Percent-encoding, also known as URL encoding, is a mechanism for encoding characters in a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). Each character is replaced by a percent sign followed by two hexadecimal digits that represent the character's byte value. This ensures that URIs remain valid and unambiguous when transmitted across different systems and protocols.
Reserved and Unreserved Characters
RFC 3986 divides URI characters into reserved characters, such as colons, slashes, and question marks, which carry structural meaning, and unreserved characters, such as letters, digits, hyphens, and underscores, which are never encoded. All other characters, including spaces and most punctuation, must be percent-encoded before appearing in a URI component.