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// Web / Encode

HTML Encoder / Decoder online

Encode text to HTML entities and decode HTML entities back to text

HTML Encoder / Decoder logo
by
CHUNKY
MUNSTER
// Output

How to Use html-encode

  1. Paste your raw text or HTML snippet into the input area.
  2. Click Encode to convert special characters — &, <, >, and quotes — to their HTML entity equivalents.
  3. Switch to Decode mode to reverse the process: paste HTML entities and recover the original text.
  4. Copy the output with one click or download it as a plain text file.

HTML entity encoding replaces characters that have special meaning in HTML — such as <, >, and & — with safe escape sequences like &lt;. This prevents XSS injection, fixes rendering bugs, and is essential when embedding user-supplied text inside HTML. The converter runs client-side: your content is never transmitted to a server.

When and Why to Encode HTML Entities

You need entity encoding whenever you are inserting dynamic text into an HTML template. Without it, a value like <script>alert(1)</script> becomes executable JavaScript. The decoder is equally useful: raw HTML source downloaded from a site often contains encoded entities that need to be read back as their original characters for further processing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between HTML encoding and URL encoding?

HTML encoding replaces characters with named or numeric entities for safe use inside HTML markup. URL encoding (percent-encoding) encodes characters for safe use inside URIs. They use completely different escape sequences — &lt; vs %3C for the same < character.

Which characters must be encoded in HTML?

At minimum: & (as &amp;), < (as &lt;), and > (as &gt;). Quotes " and ' should also be encoded when the text appears inside an attribute value.

Does encoding double-encode if I encode already-encoded text?

Yes — this tool encodes literally, so &lt; would become &amp;lt;. Always decode first if your input might already be encoded, then re-encode cleanly.

Is this safe for sensitive content like passwords?

All processing happens in your browser's JavaScript engine. Nothing is sent to any server, making it safe for any content including credentials or private text.

See also HTML Decoder, HTML Formatter, and the full encoding toolkit at Chunky Munster.