Developer / HTML
HTML Entity Encoder, Decoder, and Lookup
Encode text as HTML entities, named, decimal, or hexadecimal, decode them back, and look up any of the 2,231 named character references by name, character, or code point.
HTML Entity Encoder, Decoder, and Lookup: Encoding replaces the five characters that HTML treats specially (& < > " ') and, if you choose, every non-ASCII character, using the names from the WHATWG HTML standard where one exists, or numeric references. Decoding uses your browser's own HTML parser, so it handles every reference exactly as a web page would, including legacy ones written without a semicolon. Runs 100% locally in your browser with zero server file uploads.
- Category
- Developer tools
- Runs
- In your browser
- Cost
- Free · no sign-up
- Availability
- Ready to use
Runs entirely in your browser
Result
Café & crème brûlée — 5 € < 10 £ 🙂
Look up an entity
Named references are the 2,231 defined by the WHATWG HTML Living Standard (CC BY 4.0). In UTF-8 pages, only & < > and quotes inside attributes need escaping; the other modes are for systems that cannot handle non-ASCII text.
Where escaping matters
Text inserted into HTML must have & and < escaped, and quotes too inside attribute values, or it can break the page or let a visitor's input run as script. Template engines and frameworks such as React escape automatically; escape by hand only when building HTML as strings.
For quick escaping of the essential characters, the HTML encoder does just that; to copy symbols directly, see special characters.
Named references with two characters
A few names stand for two characters, such as ≂̸ (≂̸), a character followed by a combining mark. Decoding them gives both characters, which is why a lookup by code point shows only the first.
How to use it
- Type or paste text, and choose how much to encode.
- Switch to Decode to turn entities back into characters.
- Search the table for a symbol's entity, such as copy, ©, or U+00A9.
Privacy & limitations
Everything is encoded and decoded in your browser.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to encode accented letters?
Not in a page saved as UTF-8, which almost all are: only &, <, >, and quotes inside attribute values need escaping. Encoding everything only matters for systems limited to ASCII.
What is the difference between é and é?
Nothing to the browser: both are é. Numeric references work for every character; named ones are easier to read but exist only for 2,231 characters and sequences.
Why does matter?
It is a non-breaking space: it looks like a space but keeps the words on either side on the same line, as in 10 kg.
Free tool · runs in your browser · no account required