URL Decode Text

Decode URL-encoded text back to its original readable format with our free online decoder. Convert percent-encoded characters like %20, %26, and %3F back to spaces, ampersands, and question marks.

**What is URL Decoding?**

URL decoding reverses the percent-encoding process. It converts sequences like %20 back to spaces, %26 back to &, and UTF-8 encoded sequences back to their original characters.

**When You Need URL Decoding:**
- Reading query string parameters
- Debugging API responses
- Analyzing log files with encoded URLs
- Processing form submission data
- Examining encoded links and redirects

**How It Works:**

The decoder scans the input for percent (%) signs followed by two hexadecimal digits. Each %XX sequence is converted to its corresponding character. Plus signs (+) can also be decoded to spaces, as they're commonly used in form data.

**Developer Use Cases:**

- Inspecting URL parameters from browser dev tools
- Reading encoded values from log files
- Debugging OAuth callback URLs
- Parsing encoded email links
- Analyzing marketing campaign URLs

**Handling Multiple Encodings:**

Sometimes text is encoded multiple times (double-encoded). If your first decode still shows % sequences, the original was double-encoded. You can run the decoder again to fully decode.

**Character Set Support:**

Our decoder properly handles UTF-8 encoded sequences, correctly decoding international characters including accented letters, Chinese characters, emojis, and other Unicode text.