URL Encoder/Decoder & Punycode Converter

How to Encode and Decode URLs

1

Choose Encoding Type

Select between URL Encoding or Punycode conversion based on your needs.

2

Select Operation Mode

Click either Encode to convert to encoded format or Decode to revert to original.

3

Enter Your Input

Paste text, URL, or domain name in the input field. Real-time conversion begins automatically.

4

Copy or Download

Copy the output to clipboard or download as a .txt file for your records.

URL Encoding and Punycode Decoding for Web Development

URL encoding (also called percent encoding) converts special characters into a format that can be safely transmitted over the internet. Characters like spaces, special symbols, and non-ASCII characters are replaced with %XX sequences where XX is the hexadecimal representation.

Punycode is an encoding method used to represent Unicode domain names using only ASCII characters (letters, digits, and hyphens). This is essential for internationalized domain names (IDN) that contain non-Latin characters, allowing domains like café.com or 日本.jp to work seamlessly across the web.

Our tool supports both encoding (conversion to encoded format) and decoding (conversion back to original), making it perfect for developers, content creators, and anyone working with URLs and international domain names.

Popular Use Cases

API Development

Encode query parameters and URL components for API requests and responses.

Web Development

Handle special characters in URLs, query strings, and form submissions.

International Domains

Convert Unicode domain names to ASCII-compatible Punycode format.

Data Processing

Encode/decode text for emails, logs, and data storage systems.

URL Encoder/Decoder FAQ

URL encoding converts special characters and spaces into a format safe for web transmission. For example, spaces become %20 and '&' becomes %26. This prevents URL parsing errors and ensures data integrity across systems.

URL encoding converts ANY character to %XX hex format for safe transmission. Punycode specifically converts Unicode domain names to ASCII format (starting with xn--) for international domain names. Punycode is domain-specific, while URL encoding is general-purpose.

Punycode is used when you have domain names with non-Latin characters (like münchen.de or 中国.cn). Modern browsers automatically handle display and conversion, but you may need Punycode for DNS records, APIs, or technical configurations.

Yes! URL encoding converts spaces to %20, exclamation marks to %21, @ symbols to %40, and any other special character to its corresponding %XX hex value. This ensures safe transmission in URLs and query strings.

URL encoding is NOT encryption—it's just a format conversion. It makes content unreadable at a glance but anyone can decode it. Never rely on URL encoding for security. Use HTTPS, proper authentication, and encryption for sensitive data.

Each %XX represents the hexadecimal ASCII code of a character. For example: %23 = # (hash), %2F = / (forward slash), %3F = ? (question mark). Decoding reverses this process to show the original characters.