HTML Entity Encode/Decode
Encode special characters to HTML entities or decode entities back to readable text. All processing happens in your browser.
About This Tool
The HTML Entity Encoder & Decoder is a free browser-based utility that converts special characters into their corresponding HTML entity representations and vice versa. Whether you are preparing content for a web page, sanitizing user input for display, or debugging HTML rendering issues, this tool handles the conversion instantly.
HTML entities are used to represent reserved characters in HTML (such as <, >, and &) as well as characters that are not easily typed on a standard keyboard, such as copyright symbols, currency signs, mathematical operators, and typographic marks. Without proper encoding, these characters can break your HTML structure or render incorrectly across different browsers and platforms.
This tool supports three entity formats: named entities (like &), numeric decimal entities (like &), and hexadecimal entities (like &). Named entities are the most readable and widely used, while numeric and hex formats guarantee compatibility with any character in the Unicode range.
All processing runs entirely in your browser using native JavaScript. No data is transmitted to any server, making it safe for use with sensitive content, proprietary HTML templates, or internal codebases. The built-in reference table covers 34 of the most commonly used HTML entities, complete with their named, numeric, and hex representations for quick lookup.
How to Use
- Select Encode or Decode mode using the toggle badges at the top.
- In Encode mode, choose your preferred entity format: Named, Numeric, or Hex.
- Optionally toggle between encoding only special characters (
<>&"') or all non-ASCII characters. - Paste or type your text into the Input panel. The output updates automatically in real time.
- Click Copy to copy the result, or use the Swap button to reverse the operation and move the output into the input.
- Use Show Entity Reference to view a table of common HTML entities.
- Keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+Enter to process, Ctrl+Shift+C to copy output.
FAQ
Is my data safe?
Yes. All encoding and decoding is performed client-side in your browser using native JavaScript. No data is sent to any server or third party.
What is the difference between named, numeric, and hex entities?
Named entities use a human-readable alias like &. Numeric entities use the decimal Unicode code point like &. Hex entities use the hexadecimal code point like &. All three are valid HTML and render identically in browsers.
When should I encode all characters vs. only special characters?
Encoding only the five special characters (<>&"') is sufficient for most HTML contexts. Encoding all non-ASCII characters is useful when you need to ensure compatibility with systems that only support ASCII, or when embedding content in environments with unreliable character encoding.
Can this tool decode entities not listed in the reference table?
Yes. The decoder handles all standard named HTML entities (using the browser's built-in HTML parser as a fallback), as well as any numeric decimal or hexadecimal entity for the full Unicode range.
Why do I need to encode HTML entities at all?
Characters like <, >, and & have special meaning in HTML. If you display user-supplied text without encoding these characters, the browser may interpret them as HTML tags or entities, leading to broken layouts or cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities.
What keyboard shortcuts are available?
Ctrl+Enter triggers processing (output updates in real time, so this is mainly for consistency), and Ctrl+Shift+C copies the output to your clipboard.
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