HTML Encoder / Decoder
Encode text to HTML entities or decode HTML entities back to plain text — instantly and privately.
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About this tool
HTML encoding replaces characters that have special meaning in markup — the ampersand (&), less-than (<), greater-than (>), double quote ("), and apostrophe (') — with their HTML entity equivalents such as &, <, >, ", and '. Encoding these characters is essential whenever you display user-supplied text inside a page, because it prevents the browser from interpreting the input as markup and stops a whole class of cross-site scripting (XSS) bugs.
This tool works both ways. Choose Encode to escape raw text into safe HTML entities, or Decode to turn entities — including named ones like , numeric references like ©, and hex references like 😀 — back into the original characters. The decoder understands every form a browser does, so content copied out of HTML round-trips cleanly back to plain text.
Front-end developers, technical writers, and anyone pasting code samples into a CMS reach for an HTML encoder constantly. Because this one runs entirely client-side, your text is never sent to a server, logged, or stored — making it safe for snippets, tokens embedded in attributes, and any content you would rather keep private.
Examples
Input
<a href="x">Tom & Jerry</a>
Output
<a href="x">Tom & Jerry</a>
Encode: < > " and & all become entities. The ampersand is escaped first so entities are never double-encoded.
Input
5 < 10 && 10 > 5
Output
5 < 10 && 10 > 5
Decode: named entities < > and & are converted back to their original characters.
Input
2026 © 😀
Output
2026 © 😀
Decode also resolves the named entity plus decimal (©) and hexadecimal (😀) numeric character references.
Common uses
- Front-end developers escaping user-generated content before rendering it in HTML to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.
- Technical writers and bloggers pasting code samples into a CMS or markdown file and needing to show literal < > & characters instead of having them parsed as tags.
- Support engineers decoding HTML entities copied out of a rendered page or email back into readable plain text.
- Developers embedding text inside an HTML attribute (such as a title or alt value) who must escape quotes so the markup stays valid.
- QA and security testers crafting or inspecting encoded payloads while reproducing and verifying entity-encoding bugs.
- Anyone migrating content between systems and round-tripping text through encode and decode to confirm it survives unchanged.
Frequently asked questions
Is this HTML encoder free?
Yes. It is completely free with no sign-up, no limits, and no watermarks.
Is my data uploaded or stored anywhere?
No. Both encoding and decoding happen locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your text never leaves your device, which makes it safe for sensitive snippets.
Which characters does it escape?
Encoding escapes the five HTML-significant characters: & becomes &, < becomes <, > becomes >, " becomes ", and ' becomes '. The ampersand is escaped first so entities are never double-encoded.
Why does HTML encoding matter for security?
Displaying unescaped user input lets attackers inject markup and scripts, causing cross-site scripting (XSS). Encoding special characters into entities makes the browser render them as text instead of executing them.
What entities can the decoder handle?
It decodes the named entities amp, lt, gt, quot, apos, and nbsp, plus any decimal (©) or hexadecimal (😀) numeric character reference back to its original character.
Embed this tool
Free to use on your own site. It stays fast and private for your visitors.
<iframe src="https://hypercho.com/embed/html-encoder" title="HTML Encoder / Decoder by Hypercho" width="100%" height="560" style="border:1px solid #d8cec3;border-radius:16px;max-width:720px" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="font:13px sans-serif"><a href="https://hypercho.com/tools/html-encoder" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HTML Encoder / Decoder</a> by <a href="https://hypercho.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hypercho</a></p>Related tools
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