URL Decode Online

What Is URL Decoding?

URL decoding (percent-decoding) is the reverse of URL encoding: it converts percent-encoded sequences back into their original characters. Every occurrence of a percent sign followed by two hexadecimal digits (%XX) is replaced by the byte that XX represents. Multiple consecutive encoded bytes are recombined to reconstruct the original UTF-8 character.

URL decoding is an everyday task for developers working with APIs, web scraping, log analysis, and authentication flows. Encoded URLs are readable to machines but opaque to humans — decoding them instantly reveals the actual paths, search queries, redirect targets, and parameter values that would otherwise require mental hex-to-character conversion.

Why Use This Tool?

Quickly make sense of any percent-encoded URL or query string — no browser console required, nothing sent to a server.

How to Use This URL Decoder Online

No account, no installation. Paste your percent-encoded string into the input field and the decoded result appears instantly. Everything runs in your browser — your data never leaves your device.

1. 1
   Paste Your Encoded URL or String

   Copy any percent-encoded string — a URL from a browser address bar, a query parameter from server logs, an API response, or a redirect target — and paste it into the input field.
2. 2
   Automatic Format Detection

   The decoder automatically handles both %XX percent-encoding and + as space (application/x-www-form-urlencoded). No need to manually specify the encoding format.
3. 3
   Inspect the Decoded Output

   The human-readable text appears instantly. If the input contained nested encoding (double-encoded strings), the decoder resolves one layer at a time. An error appears for malformed %XX sequences.
4. 4
   Copy or Re-encode

   Click Copy to grab the decoded string. Need to encode it again with different settings? Switch to the URL Encoder tool with one click.

How Decoding Works

The decoder scans the input for % sequences, converts each two-hex-digit group to a byte value, groups consecutive byte sequences together, and interprets them as UTF-8 to produce the final Unicode characters.

Percent-encoded Character Reference

A quick-reference for the most frequently encountered percent-encoded sequences:

Common Use Cases

Common Pitfalls

These are the most frequent mistakes when decoding percent-encoded strings:

Code Examples

How to URL-decode strings in popular languages and environments:

// Decode a percent-encoded component
decodeURIComponent('hello%20world%20%26%20more') // → "hello world & more"

// Decode a full URL (leaves structure characters encoded)
decodeURI('https://example.com/path?q=hello%20world') // → "https://example.com/path?q=hello world"

// Parse a query string (handles + as space automatically)
const params = new URLSearchParams('q=hello+world&lang=en')
params.get('q') // → "hello world"

from urllib.parse import unquote, unquote_plus, parse_qs

# Decode percent-encoded string
unquote('hello%20world%20%26%20more')   # → 'hello world & more'

# Decode form-encoded string (+ → space)
unquote_plus('hello+world%21')          # → 'hello world!'

# Parse full query string
parse_qs('q=hello%20world&lang=en')     # → {'q': ['hello world'], 'lang': ['en']}

const url = new URL('https://example.com/search?q=hello%20world%20%26%20more')
url.searchParams.get('q')  // → "hello world & more"
url.pathname               // → "/search"

# Decode with Python one-liner
python3 -c "from urllib.parse import unquote; print(unquote('hello%20world'))"

# Decode with Node.js
node -e "console.log(decodeURIComponent('hello%20world%20%26'))"

URL Decoder vs. Alternatives

Multiple tools can decode percent-encoded strings, but they differ in clarity, privacy, and convenience.

Frequently Asked Questions