HTML Entity Encoder

Escape special characters into safe HTML entities, or unescape them back into raw text instantly.

Plain Text / HTML
HTML Entities

Fast and Secure HTML Escaping

When building web applications, displaying raw code snippets or handling user input requires extreme caution. If special characters like < or > are left unescaped, browsers will interpret them as actual HTML elements, potentially breaking your layout or exposing your site to XSS vulnerabilities.

The Toolforge HTML Entity Encoder solves this by instantly sanitizing your text. Designed with a clean, bi-directional interface, you can seamlessly convert code snippets into safe text blocks, or decode large blocks of escaped entities back into human-readable code.

Common HTML Entities

Here are the most frequently used entities that developers need to escape:

  • Less than (<): Becomes &lt;
  • Greater than (>): Becomes &gt;
  • Ampersand (&): Becomes &amp;
  • Double quote ("): Becomes &quot;
  • Single quote ('): Becomes &#39;

How to Use

  1. 1

    Encode

    Paste your raw text or HTML tags into the 'Plain Text / HTML' editor. It will instantly convert characters like < and > into their safe entity equivalents.

  2. 2

    Decode

    Paste escaped HTML entities into the 'HTML Entities' editor. It will decode them back into readable text in the top panel.

  3. 3

    Copy

    Use the 'Copy' buttons to grab your sanitized or decoded strings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an HTML Entity?+

An HTML entity is a piece of text (string) that begins with an ampersand (&) and ends with a semicolon (;). Entities are used to display reserved characters (which would otherwise be interpreted as HTML code) or invisible characters.

Why do I need to encode HTML?+

If you want to display HTML code snippets on a webpage without the browser actually rendering them, you must escape the characters. For example, replacing '<script>' with '&lt;script&gt;'. It is also a critical defense mechanism against Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks.

Does this handle all entities?+

Yes. This tool uses an advanced encoding engine that can safely escape and unescape all standard named references and numeric character references.