What is URL Decode?

URLs are not allowed to contain spaces, ampersands, or non-ASCII characters directly, so browsers disguise them: a space becomes "%20", an é becomes "%C3%A9". The URL Decode tool reverses that disguise, turning "hello%20world" back into "hello world" — the text a human actually typed or meant.

Encoded URLs confront you daily in disguised form. A shared link arrives with "%20" everywhere, analytics software logs full encoded query strings, an API echoes back encoded parameters, or a redirect chain nests one encoded URL inside another. Decoding peels the transport encoding away so you can read the real addresses and values.

How to use

1. Paste the encoded URL or text fragment into the input. Full URLs, bare query strings, and isolated encoded values all work.
2. The decoder scans for % followed by two hex digits — the percent-encoding pattern — and converts each triplet to its byte.
3. Click decode. Byte sequences are interpreted as UTF-8, so "%C3%A9" correctly becomes "é" rather than two garbage characters.
4. Copy the readable URL or value. Plus signs (+) are optionally converted to spaces, matching form-encoding conventions.

Common use cases

• Reading shared links: Messy encoded URLs from email campaigns and trackers become legible, letting you see the real destination before clicking.
• Debugging query parameters: Developers inspecting "?q=hello%20world&lang=fr" decode the values to verify the application received what the form sent.
• Log analysis: Web server logs record requests in encoded form. Decoding reveals the actual search terms and paths users requested.
• Untangling redirects: Redirect URLs often embed a second encoded URL as a parameter. Decode once to see the outer address, again to reveal the inner one.

Example

Input:  https://example.com/search?q=caf%C3%A9%20au%20lait&page=2
Output: https://example.com/search?q=café au lait&page=2

FAQs

What is the difference between %20 and + for spaces?

Both mean space, in different contexts. %20 is the general percent-encoding used in URL paths; + means space only inside form-encoded query strings (application/x-www-form-urlencoded). The tool converts + to space as an option, since blindly converting it inside paths would corrupt legitimate plus signs.

Why do accented characters become multiple % triplets?

Because percent-encoding operates on bytes, not characters. The UTF-8 encoding of "é" is two bytes (C3 A9), so it appears as "%C3%A9". Decoding reassembles the byte sequence first, then interprets it as UTF-8 — which is why the character comes back correctly.

Can it handle double-encoded URLs?

Yes, by decoding twice. Double encoding turns "%20" into "%2520" (the % itself gets encoded). If your output still contains % triplets after one pass, run it through again to strip the second layer.

Are encoded URLs safe to click after decoding?

Decoding only changes how the URL looks, not where it goes — the destination was always the decoded form. That said, readability cuts both ways: a decoded URL makes phishing attempts easier to spot, so give unfamiliar decoded links the same scrutiny as any other.