HTML Encode & Decode
Convert special characters to safe HTML entities and back. Encode &, <, >, " and ' or optionally every non-ASCII character to numeric references, and decode named, decimal and hex entities — all locally in your browser.
Examples
Tom & Jerry <b>
Tom & Jerry <b>
How it works
Encode replaces the five characters that have a special meaning in HTML with entities, so a browser shows them as text instead of reading them as markup. Decode does the reverse.
| Character | Becomes | Why |
|---|---|---|
| & | & | Starts an entity |
| < | < | Opens a tag |
| > | > | Closes a tag |
| " | " | Ends a double-quoted attribute |
| ' | ' | Ends a single-quoted attribute |
With “encode all non-ASCII” switched on, every character above code point 127 also becomes a decimal reference, so © turns into ©. Decode understands decimal and hex references for any character, plus the most common named entities such as , ©, — and €. A named entity it does not recognise is left as it is.
How to use HTML Entity Encode/Decode
Why use this tool
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Decoding handles common named entities plus any decimal or hex numeric reference.
It converts every character above code point 127 into a numeric entity, which is useful for strict ASCII-only contexts.
HTML encoding turns characters like < and & into entities so they display as text on a web page. URL encoding turns characters into %XX codes so they are safe inside a link. Use the URL Encode/Decode tool for links.
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