ASCII Table & Unicode Character Reference
Browse, search, and copy ASCII and Unicode characters with full encoding details.
About This Tool
The ASCII Table & Unicode Character Reference is a comprehensive, browser-based lookup tool for developers, system administrators, and anyone who works with character encodings. It covers the full ASCII character set (codes 0–127) as well as commonly used Unicode blocks including Latin Extended characters, currency symbols, arrows, mathematical operators, box-drawing characters, and geometric shapes.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) was first published in 1963 and remains the foundation of virtually every modern character encoding scheme. The original 128 characters include 33 non-printing control codes (such as NUL, TAB, LF, CR, and ESC), the space character, and 94 printable characters covering digits, uppercase and lowercase Latin letters, and common punctuation marks. Understanding these codes is essential when working with low-level protocols, terminal emulators, serial communication, file formats, or any system that processes raw byte streams.
Unicode extends ASCII to cover over 150,000 characters from scripts around the world. This tool highlights the most frequently referenced Unicode blocks so you can quickly find currency signs like € and £, directional arrows, mathematical symbols such as ∑ and ∏, and box-drawing characters used in terminal UIs. Every entry shows its decimal, hexadecimal, octal, and binary value, plus ready-to-copy HTML entities, CSS escape sequences, JavaScript escape sequences, and raw UTF-8 byte representations.
All lookups and conversions happen entirely in your browser. No data is sent to any server, making the tool safe to use in any environment. Whether you need to embed a special character in HTML, construct a binary protocol payload, or simply remember which ASCII code corresponds to the at-sign, this reference has you covered.
How to Use
- Use the search bar to find characters by name, description, decimal value, hexadecimal value, or the character itself.
- Switch between category tabs (All, Control, Printable, Extended Latin, Symbols, Arrows, Math) to narrow the table.
- Click any row to open its detail panel showing decimal, hex, octal, binary, HTML entity, CSS escape, JS escape, and UTF-8 byte values.
- Click any field in the detail panel to copy that specific value to your clipboard.
- Click the copy icon on any row to quickly copy just the character.
- Press Escape to close the detail panel.
- Click Load more at the bottom of the table to view additional characters in large result sets.
FAQ
What is the difference between ASCII and Unicode?
ASCII defines 128 characters (codes 0-127) using 7 bits, covering basic Latin letters, digits, punctuation, and control codes. Unicode is a superset that assigns unique code points to over 150,000 characters from virtually every writing system in the world. The first 128 Unicode code points are identical to ASCII.
What are control characters?
Control characters (ASCII 0-31 and 127) are non-printing characters originally designed to control hardware devices like printers and teletypes. Common examples include TAB (9), LF (10, line feed), CR (13, carriage return), and ESC (27, escape). They are still widely used in terminal protocols and text file formats.
How do I use an HTML entity in my code?
You can use either a named entity like & for the ampersand or a numeric entity like &. Named entities are available only for a subset of characters, while numeric entities work for any Unicode code point. This tool provides both formats when applicable.
Is my data sent to a server?
No. This tool runs entirely in your browser using client-side JavaScript. No network requests are made, and no data leaves your machine. It is safe to use in restricted or air-gapped environments.
Why are some characters shown as abbreviations?
Characters in the control range (0-31 and 127) are non-printable, so the table shows their standard two- or three-letter abbreviations such as NUL, SOH, STX, ETX, LF, CR, ESC, and DEL. These names are defined in the original ASCII specification.
What Unicode blocks are included?
The extended section covers Latin Extended-A and a subset of Latin Extended-B, Currency Symbols, Arrows, Mathematical Operators, Box Drawing, Block Elements, Geometric Shapes, and a subset of Miscellaneous Symbols. These are the blocks most commonly needed by developers.
Can I search by hexadecimal value?
Yes. Type a hex value like 41 or 2F into the search bar and the table will filter to characters whose code point matches. You can also search by decimal value, character name, or the character itself.
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