HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder

Quick start

How to use HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder

1. 1

   Select your operation mode: click "Encode" to translate special symbols into HTML entities, or "Decode" to convert entity codes back to plain text.

2. 2

   Paste or type your HTML code snippet, text, or character sequence into the input field.

3. 3

   View the real-time converted entity code or decoded output generated instantly below.

4. 4

   Click the "Copy" button to save the output directly to your clipboard for use in your source code or templates.

Overview

About HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder

HTML entities are specialized code sequences used in web development to represent reserved HTML markup characters, special symbols, and non-ASCII characters safely within web documents. In HTML syntax, characters such as <, >, &, and quotes can have special meaning depending on where the data is inserted. Encoding literal text for the correct HTML context helps the browser treat that value as text instead of markup. This HTML Entity Encoder and Decoder converts characters to HTML character references and decodes entity references back to text. HTML entity encoding can be one part of XSS prevention for HTML output contexts, but it is not a universal sanitizer and does not replace context-aware escaping or HTML sanitization when an application intentionally accepts markup.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Why should I encode HTML entities?

Entity encoding is useful when literal data is inserted into an HTML text context because it prevents characters such as < and & from being interpreted as markup. It is not a complete XSS defense for every context; attributes, URLs, JavaScript, CSS, and rich HTML require their own context-aware handling.

What is the difference between named, decimal, and hex HTML entities?

Named entities use human-readable shortcuts like &lt; for "<". Decimal entities use character ASCII values like &#60;, while hexadecimal entities use hex codes like &#x3C;. All three forms render identically in modern web browsers.

Which characters are considered reserved in HTML?

Ampersand (&), less-than (<), greater-than (>), and quotes are commonly encoded when they appear as literal data in contexts where the HTML parser could otherwise interpret them as syntax. The exact escaping rules depend on the output context.

Is my data transmitted to a server when using this tool?

No. All encoding and decoding operations take place directly in your web browser. Your text, HTML snippets, and code sequences are processed locally by this tool.