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HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder
Encode special characters to HTML entities (< > & " ') or decode entities back to text. Useful for safe HTML output and parsing.
About this tool
HTML entities represent special characters so they display correctly and don't break markup. For example, < becomes < and & becomes &. Encoding user input before putting it in HTML helps prevent XSS. Decoding is needed when you have entity-encoded text and want plain characters back.
How to use
- Paste the text you want to encode (e.g. text containing <, >, &) or entity-encoded text to decode.
- Click Encode to turn special characters into HTML entities.
- Click Decode to turn entities back into normal characters.
When to use this tool
- Displaying user input safely in HTML (e.g. < and > so it doesn't become a tag).
- Preventing XSS: encode before inserting text into the DOM.
- Decoding HTML entities from scraped content or API responses.
- Converting special quotes or symbols to entities for consistent rendering.
Tips
- Always encode user-generated content before showing it in HTML to avoid injection and broken layout.
- Numeric entities (e.g. ' or ') are supported on decode; we convert them back to the character.
FAQ
- What characters get encoded?
- Common ones: & → &, < → <, > → >, " → ", ' → ', / → /. Encoding these prevents HTML from being interpreted or broken.
- Is this enough to prevent XSS?
- Encoding for HTML context (e.g. text content) helps. For attributes, JavaScript, or URL contexts, use the right encoding for that context. This tool is for HTML text content.