Encode & Decode Text

Encode or decode text using Base64, URL, HTML entities, Hex, Binary, Octal, Unicode escapes, ROT13, Base16, Base32, and Base58

Encode and decode text online in many formats, including Base64, URL encoding, HTML entities, Hex, Binary, Octal, Unicode escapes, ROT13, Base32, and Base58. Paste your text, choose a format, and get the converted result instantly. It is a quick all-in-one encoder and decoder for developers, testers, and anyone working with encoded data.

Encoding:

About Text Encoder & Decoder

The Text Encoder & Decoder converts text between various encoding formats including Base64, URL encoding, Unicode escape sequences, hex encoding, and more. It is an essential tool for developers working with APIs, URLs, data transmission, embedded content, or any scenario requiring text encoding transformations — all processed instantly in your browser.

Why Text Encoding Matters

Different systems and protocols require data in specific encoding formats. URLs cannot contain spaces or special characters without percent-encoding. Email attachments and binary data must be Base64-encoded for safe transmission over text protocols. JavaScript and JSON use Unicode escape sequences for non-ASCII characters. Understanding and converting between these encodings is a daily task for web developers, API integrators, and security professionals.

Supported Encoding Formats

  • Base64 — encode text to Base64 for data URIs, email headers, API payloads, and binary data embedding in text formats.
  • URL encoding — percent-encode text for safe use in URLs, query parameters, and form submissions.
  • Unicode escape — convert text to \uXXXX sequences for JSON, JavaScript, or Java string contexts.
  • HTML entities — convert special characters to HTML entity equivalents for safe HTML rendering.
  • Hex encoding — convert text to hexadecimal byte representation for debugging and low-level analysis.

How to Use

  1. Enter text — paste or type the text you want to encode or decode into the input area.
  2. Select format — choose the encoding format (Base64, URL, Unicode, HTML, Hex) from the dropdown.
  3. Choose direction — select Encode to convert text to the target format, or Decode to reverse the encoding.
  4. Process — click the action button to perform the conversion instantly.
  5. Copy result — copy the encoded or decoded text to your clipboard for use in your project.

Encoding in Practice

When building API requests, query parameters with spaces must be URL-encoded as %20 or +. When embedding binary data in JSON, Base64 encoding converts bytes to ASCII text. When storing non-ASCII characters in ASCII-only files, Unicode escapes (\u00E9 for é) maintain compatibility. This tool lets you quickly encode and decode without writing code or remembering encoding rules.

Real-World Use Cases

  • Encoding text to Base64 for inclusion in data URIs, email MIME headers, or API authentication headers (Bearer tokens).
  • Decoding Base64 strings from API responses, JWT payloads, or configuration files to read the original content.
  • URL-encoding query parameters to prevent special character issues in GET requests and form submissions.
  • Converting Unicode escape sequences to readable text when debugging JSON, JavaScript source code, or log files.
  • Encoding text to hexadecimal for debugging network protocols, binary formats, or cryptographic operations.

Tips, Best Practices and Common Mistakes

Encoding is not encryption. Formats such as Base64 and URL encoding only change how data is represented, and anyone can reverse them, so never rely on them to protect secrets. Choose the encoding that matches the destination: URL encoding for query strings, Base64 for embedding binary data in text, and HTML entities for markup. Decoding errors usually come from using the wrong format, copying extra spaces or line breaks, or double-encoding a value that was already encoded. For text containing non-English characters, make sure both sides agree on UTF-8, otherwise accented letters and symbols can turn into garbled characters.

Common Situations for Encoding and Decoding

Building safe links with special characters, reading values from encoded API parameters, inspecting Base64 data in tokens and email headers, and cleaning text that was escaped more than once are everyday tasks where a quick encoder and decoder saves time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Base64 encoding?

Base64 encodes binary or text data into a set of 64 ASCII characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /). It is commonly used to transmit data over text-based protocols like email (MIME) or embed data in JSON APIs.

When should I use URL encoding?

Use URL encoding when including special characters in URLs or query strings. Characters like spaces, ampersands (&), equals (=), and question marks (?) must be percent-encoded to avoid breaking URL structure.

Is the encoding done locally?

Yes. All encoding and decoding happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. No data is transmitted to any server.

What is the difference between URL encoding and Base64?

URL encoding replaces unsafe characters with percent-encoded equivalents (e.g., space becomes %20). Base64 converts all data into a uniform ASCII string. They serve different purposes and are not interchangeable.

Can I encode binary files?

This tool is designed for text input. To encode binary files (images, PDFs) to Base64, use the Image to Base64 tool or a dedicated file encoding tool.