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HTML Entity Decoder

Encode and decode HTML entities

About HTML Entity Decoder

HTML Entity Decoder decodes HTML entities — named ones like nbsp, copy, and euro, and numeric ones — back into plain text using the browser's own DOMParser, entirely in your browser. Unlike parsing untrusted HTML by setting innerHTML on an element, DOMParser-parsed documents never fetch resources or run scripts or event handlers, so pasted content can't execute anything. Encode escapes the five characters that matter for safe HTML output: ampersand, less-than, greater-than, double quote, and apostrophe.

How to use HTML Entity Decoder

  1. 1Paste or type text into the input box.
  2. 2Click 'Encode' to escape & < > " ' into HTML entities, or 'Decode' to convert entities (named or numeric) back into text.
  3. 3Review the result in the output box.
  4. 4Click 'Copy' to copy it to your clipboard.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are HTML entities?

Codes that represent characters with special meaning in HTML, such as &amp; for an ampersand, &lt; for a less-than sign, or &nbsp; for a non-breaking space.

Which entities does Decode understand?

A broad range — both named entities (like &nbsp;, &copy;, &euro;) and numeric ones (like &#39; or &#8364;) — since decoding is delegated to the browser's own HTML parser rather than a fixed lookup list.

Is this tool free to use?

Yes, it's completely free with no signup required.

Does it store or upload my data?

No, encoding and decoding both happen entirely in your browser using DOMParser; nothing is sent to a server.

Tips & Tricks

  • ✓Decode handles far more entities than Encode produces — it recognizes the full range of standard named and numeric HTML entities, not just the five Encode escapes.
  • ✓Encoding is a straight text replacement of & < > " ', so it works reliably regardless of the rest of your content.
  • ✓Encode then Decode round-trips back to your original text exactly, since decoding uses the browser's real HTML-parsing rules.
  • ✓Copy your result right away, since it isn't saved after you leave the page.