URL Tools

URLs look simple until a value contains a space, an ampersand, a plus sign or a non-Latin character. At that point, encoding once, encoding twice or not encoding at all decides whether a link works, an API call succeeds, or a redirect lands on a 404.

The URL encoder and decoder apply percent-encoding the way browsers do, so you can see what a value will look like on the wire or reverse a string copied from a log. For example, a space becomes %20 and an ampersand inside a value becomes %26. The URL parser splits any URL into its components (scheme, host, port, path, query, fragment) and lists every query parameter in a table. The query string parser focuses on the part after the question mark and handles repeated keys, arrays and nested bracket notation.

Use these tools when you debug OAuth callbacks, tracking parameters, deep links, or any API that passes structured data through the query string.

The network checks go one step further than the URL itself. The redirect checker follows every hop of a 301, 302 or meta refresh chain and shows the status of each. The website down checker probes a site from a neutral network, so you can tell an outage from a problem with your own connection. The DNS propagation checker asks twelve public resolvers for the same record, the WHOIS lookup returns registrar, dates and nameservers for a domain or IP, and the IP tool shows the address and network you are connecting from. The domain IP lookup lists every address a domain resolves to and who holds each network. The iframe checker reads X-Frame-Options and CSP frame-ancestors to tell you which sites can embed a page. These seven run on our edge API rather than in your browser, because a browser cannot read another site's response headers, open port 43 or query someone else's DNS resolver. The embed code tester is the counterpart that stays in your browser: it runs a widget or iframe snippet in a sandboxed frame and lists what rendered, what the console logged and which requests failed.

Which tool for which job

  • Put a value with spaces, & or = into a query string

    URL Encoder. Encode the value on its own before adding it to the URL, so an & inside it does not start a new parameter.

  • Read an encoded URL copied from a log

    URL Decoder. Percent-encoded UTF-8 comes back as readable text. If the result still contains %25, the URL was encoded twice, so decode it again.

  • See every part of a long URL

    URL Parser. The host, port, path and each query parameter are listed in a table.

  • Debug the parameters on an OAuth callback

    Query String Parser. Every value is decoded, and repeated keys such as tags[]=a&tags[]=b are grouped into an array in the JSON view.

  • Tag links for a campaign

    UTM Builder (Campaign URL Builder). Add utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign to one URL or to a whole list at once.

  • Find out why a link lands on the wrong page

    Redirect Checker (Trace Redirect Chain). Every hop is listed with its status code, including meta refresh redirects.

  • Check whether a site is down for everyone

    Is This Website Down? (Site Status Checker). The request comes from our network. If it fails from there as well, the site itself is down.

  • Confirm a DNS change has reached public resolvers

    DNS Propagation Checker. Twelve resolvers answer the same query side by side, so you can see which ones still return the old record.

  • Find the IP address of a domain and who hosts it

    Domain IP Lookup (Domain to IP Address). Every IPv4 and IPv6 address is listed with its reverse DNS name and the organization that holds the network.

  • Look up who registered a domain and when it expires

    WHOIS Lookup (Domain & IP). It also works for IP addresses, where it returns the network the address belongs to.

  • Get your public IP for a firewall allowlist

    What Is My IP Address?. It shows the IPv4 or IPv6 address the outside world sees, plus your ISP.

  • Find out why a page refuses to load in an iframe

    Iframe Checker (Can This Site Be Embedded?). It reads X-Frame-Options and the CSP frame-ancestors directive and tells you which sites may embed the page.

  • Try a third-party widget before adding it to your site

    Embed Code Tester (Preview Script and Iframe Widgets). The snippet runs in a sandboxed frame, and the page lists what rendered, what it logged and which requests failed.

Other tool categories

Specifications and references

This tool follows the specifications below. Read them when you need the exact normative wording, for example to settle an edge case between two implementations.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I use encodeURIComponent instead of encodeURI?

Use encodeURIComponent for a single value, such as one query parameter. It escapes ?, &, =, / and #, which would otherwise change the meaning of the URL. encodeURI is meant for a complete URL and leaves those characters alone, so running it on a value that contains & splits the value into two parameters.

Why does a + in a query string turn into a space?

HTML forms and URLSearchParams use the application/x-www-form-urlencoded format, where + stands for a space. In a URL path, + is a literal plus sign. To send a literal plus in a query value, encode it as %2B.

What is the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?

A 301 says the move is permanent, so browsers cache it and search engines pass the old URL's signals to the new one. A 302 says the move is temporary, and search engines keep the original URL in their index. The newer 308 and 307 mean the same things and also guarantee that the method and body are kept, so a POST stays a POST.

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