How to URL Decode: Turn %20 Back Into Readable Text

To URL-decode a string, paste it into a decoder that converts each %XX escape back to its original character — %20 becomes a space and %C3%A9 becomes é. The ByteTools URL Decoder does this live in your browser, with an optional toggle for the +-as-space convention that form data uses.

Encoded URLs are everywhere in a developer's day: analytics parameters, OAuth redirect URIs, log entries and copied links all arrive stuffed with percent escapes. Reading them by eye is painful; decoding them takes a second.

Why URL decoding is a daily need

Percent-encoding is what keeps URLs valid, but it makes them unreadable. When you are trying to figure out where a redirect actually points, or what a tracking parameter contains, or why a query broke, you first have to unwrap the encoding. A decoder turns %2F back into /, %3D back into =, and multibyte escapes back into their original letters and emoji.

This tool serves developers debugging web requests, marketers inspecting UTM strings, and support teams making sense of encoded links in tickets. It also flags malformed input rather than silently producing garbage.

How to URL-decode in your browser

1. Paste the encoded URL or string into the input box.
2. Enable Treat + as space if the text came from a form-encoded query string.
3. Read the decoded output live beneath the input.
4. Click Copy to grab the readable text.

Percent escapes you will see most often

A handful of encoded characters account for the vast majority of what you encounter. Recognising them helps you spot problems even before decoding.

Encoded	Decodes to	Where it appears
%20	space	Search terms, filenames
%2F	/	Encoded paths, redirect targets
%3D	=	Query values, Base64 padding
%26	&	Values containing ampersands
%25	%	A telltale sign of double-encoding

If you spot %25 in your data, the string was almost certainly encoded twice — decode it, then decode the result again to fully unwrap it.

Key features and benefits

• Instant decoding of every %XX percent-escape.
• Optional + to space conversion for form-encoded data.
• Clear errors for malformed % sequences instead of a crash.
• UTF-8 aware — multibyte characters decode correctly.
• One-click copy of the readable result.
• Private — runs fully in your browser and works offline.

Try the URL Decoder now — it's free and runs entirely in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

What does %20 mean in a URL?

%20 is the percent-encoded form of a space. URLs cannot contain literal spaces, so each one is replaced with %20 (or + in form-encoded query strings). Decoding restores the normal spaces.

Why do I get a 'URI malformed' error when decoding?

A % in the string must be followed by exactly two hexadecimal digits. A literal percent sign that was never encoded, or an escape truncated mid-sequence, causes the decode to fail. This tool catches that and tells you the input is invalid rather than corrupting it.

Should + be decoded as a space?

Only in application/x-www-form-urlencoded data, such as query strings from HTML forms. In a URL path, + is a literal plus sign, which is why the option is a toggle you enable only when appropriate.

How do I decode a URL that was encoded twice?

Decode it once, then run the output through the decoder again. Double-encoding — where % itself becomes %25 — is a common bug, so if your result still shows %XX sequences, decode a second time.

Is my URL sent anywhere when I decode it?

No. Decoding happens locally in your browser using JavaScript. Tokens, emails and private parameters in the URL are never transmitted or stored.

Related free tools

• URL Encoder — percent-encode text for safe use in links.
• Base64 Decoder — decode Base64 strings to text or files.
• JWT Decoder — inspect JSON Web Token claims.
• JSON Formatter — pretty-print and validate JSON.

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