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HTML Entity Encode Decode

Encode or decode HTML entities for safe markup output.
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About Tool

When displaying raw code on a webpage or sanitizing user inputs, specific characters must be neutralized to prevent the browser from interpreting them as functional HTML. The HTML Entity Encode Decode tool safely translates these reserved characters (like `<` and `>`) into their safe entity representations, and can also reverse the process to decode them back into raw text.

Failing to encode HTML properly is a leading cause of broken page layouts and severe Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. By using this utility, you ensure that markup text is rendered visibly on the screen for the user to read, rather than being executed by the browser engine.

Encoding vs. Decoding

Paste your text or raw markup into the Input Text / Markup field. Using the Action toggle, you can choose the direction of the translation.

Selecting Encode will scan the text and replace functional characters with entity codes. For example, an opening

tag will be transformed into <div>. This makes the string completely safe to inject into a standard text node on your website.

Selecting Decode does the exact opposite. If you have scraped a webpage or received a JSON payload filled with " and & strings, decoding will convert them back into natural quotation marks and ampersands.

Comprehensive Data Encoding

HTML entities are just one layer of data security and formatting in web development. If you are preparing data to be passed through a web address query string, you will need the URL Encode Decode tool instead. For converting complex binary data or images into safe text strings, rely on the Base64 Encode Decode utility.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which characters are converted during encoding?

Standard encoding targets the most problematic reserved characters: the ampersand (&), less-than (<), greater-than (>), double quotes ("), and single quotes (').

Can this tool prevent XSS attacks?

While encoding text before rendering it on a page is a fundamental defense against XSS, this tool is meant for manual conversion and debugging. For production apps, always use your backend framework's built-in sanitization and templating libraries.

Does decoding execute the HTML?

No. Decoding simply transforms the entity text string back into standard character symbols within the tool's text box. The browser will not execute the decoded scripts or render the layout inside the raw text output panel.

Why do I see   in my text?

  is the HTML entity for a Non-Breaking Space. It is commonly used by visual editors to force extra spaces that standard HTML rendering would otherwise collapse. The decoder will convert these back into regular spaces.

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