URL Decoder
Decode a percent-encoded URL string back to readable text. Free, instant.
How to use this tool
- Enter url-encoded text in the fields above.
- Results update instantly as you type — or click Calculate.
- Read your decoded text and the full breakdown beneath it.
URL decoding converts percent-encoded characters back into their original form, making encoded URLs human-readable.
How it works
This tool decodes a percent-encoded URL string back into human-readable text. It reverses the percent-encoding process by replacing each %XX sequence with the character represented by the hexadecimal byte value XX, then interpreting the resulting bytes as UTF-8 text.
Paste a percent-encoded string into the input and click Decode. The tool recognises both %20 (space) and + (HTML form space) and converts all percent sequences to their original characters. The decoded output is easy to read and can be used to verify that a URL was constructed correctly.
URL decoding is useful when you are debugging a failing API call and need to read what parameter values are actually being sent, when you receive a URL from a log file and want to understand its query string, or when you want to extract and read data embedded in a URL as part of an OAuth redirect or webhook callback.
Like the encoder, this tool runs entirely in your browser with no server contact, making it safe to use with sensitive query strings or authentication tokens you need to inspect.
Worked example
Read a URL copied from an error log
- Copy the encoded query string from your log: q=coffee%20%26%20tea%20prices%202025
- Paste it into the decoder
- Click Decode
- Read: q=coffee & tea prices 2025
q=coffee & tea prices 2025
Common mistakes to avoid
- Decoding a URL and then using the decoded version directly in a link -- the decoded special characters will break the URL structure.
- Pasting a fully-formed URL and expecting only the parameter values to be decoded -- the entire string is decoded, including structural characters.
- Assuming + in a URL always means a space -- outside of HTML form data, + is a literal plus sign and should not be decoded as a space.
Key terms
- Percent-decoding
- The process of converting %XX sequences in a URL back to their original characters by interpreting XX as a hexadecimal byte value.
- Query string
- The part of a URL that follows the ? character, containing key=value pairs separated by & that pass parameters to a web server.
Frequently asked questions
- What is URL decoding?
- URL decoding reverses percent-encoding, converting sequences like %20 back into a space character.