URL Encoder & Decoder→Specialized Version
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URL Decoder

Decode URL encoding

Tip: Use encodeURIComponent for query parameter values. Use encodeURI only for full URLs where you want to preserve : / ? & characters.
Common URL Encodings Reference
␣→%20
!β†’%21
"β†’%22
#β†’%23
$β†’%24
&β†’%26
'β†’%27
+β†’%2B
,β†’%2C
/β†’%2F
:β†’%3A
?β†’%3F
@β†’%40
=β†’%3D

URL Decoder

Convert percent-encoded strings back to their original readable form. URL decoding transforms %XX codes into their corresponding characters.

How URL Decoding Works

| Encoded | Decoded | Description | %20(space)Space character %26&Ampersand %3D=Equals sign %2F/Forward slash %3F?Question mark | %25 | % | Percent sign |

URL Decode Implementation

``javascript // Built-in JavaScript decoding function urlDecode(encodedString) { try { return decodeURIComponent(encodedString); } catch (error) { return decodeURIComponent( encodedString.replace(/%(?![0-9A-Fa-f]{2})/g, '%25') ); } }

// Handle + as space (common in query strings) function urlDecodeWithPlus(encodedString) { return decodeURIComponent(encodedString.replace(/\+/g, ' ')); }

// Examples urlDecode('Hello%20World'); // "Hello World" urlDecode('%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87'); // "δΈ­ζ–‡" `

Decoding Different URL Parts

`javascript // Parse and decode full URL function parseEncodedUrl(url) { const parsed = new URL(url); return { pathname: decodeURIComponent(parsed.pathname), params: Object.fromEntries(parsed.searchParams) }; } ``

Use this decoder to make URL-encoded strings readable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is URL decoding?

URL decoding converts percent-encoded characters back to their original form. When URLs contain special characters, they're encoded as %XX where XX is the hexadecimal value. Decoding reverses this: %20 becomes space, %26 becomes &.

What is the difference between decodeURI and decodeURIComponent?

decodeURI preserves URL-meaningful characters like : / ? #. decodeURIComponent decodes everything. Use decodeURIComponent for query parameter values, decodeURI for full URLs.

Why does URL decoding sometimes fail?

Decoding fails with invalid percent sequences like %ZZ or incomplete %2. Also fails if decoded bytes aren't valid UTF-8. Always wrap decoding in try-catch for user input.

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