HTML Entity Decoder

What does the HTML Entity Decoder do?

The HTML Entity Decoder converts encoded entity strings (<, >, &, ", ', <) back into raw, unescaped HTML markup code and readable plain text characters. It decodes all W3C standard named entities, decimal codes (<), and hexadecimal unicode entities (<).

Core Concepts

Understanding HTML entity unescaping mechanics:

• Named Entity Mapping: Replaces standard HTML entities like < (<), > (>), & (&), " ("), and ' (') with their native characters.
• Decimal Code Processing: Resolves ASCII decimal entities (", <, >) via character code point lookups.
• Hexadecimal Entity Resolution: Translates hexadecimal unicode escapes (e.g. <, &) into raw UTF-8 glyphs.

How to use the tool?

1. Enter Encoded HTML: Paste your entity-encoded string into the input editor or click Load Sample.
2. Execute Decode: Click Decode HTML Entities to convert entities into unescaped plain characters.
3. Inspect & Copy: Review the decoded output and entity count, then click Copy or Download.

Related Developer Utilities

If you work with HTML entities, markup sanitization, and text formatting, explore these complementary tools:

• HTML Entity Encoder: Convert reserved characters into named, decimal, or hex entities.
• HTML Formatter & Beautifier: Format and indent unescaped HTML documents.
• HTML Tag Stripper: Remove all HTML tags and extract clean plain text.
• HTML to Markdown Converter: Convert HTML documents into GitHub Flavored Markdown.

REST API Integration

Blueutils provides a free REST API endpoint (POST https://blueutils.com/api/html/html-decoder) to programmatically decode HTML entities back to raw unescaped HTML markup code.

API Request Parameters

API Request Payload Examples

cURL

curl -X POST https://blueutils.com/api/html/html-decoder \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "rawText": "<div class="card">Hello & World</div>"
  }'

Python

import requests

url = "https://blueutils.com/api/html/html-decoder"
payload = {"rawText": "<div class="card">Hello & World</div>"}
headers = {"Content-Type": "application/json"}
response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers)
print(response.json())

Java

import java.net.URI;
import java.net.http.HttpClient;
import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
import java.net.http.HttpResponse;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        String jsonPayload = """
            {
                "rawText": "<div class=\\"card\\">Hello & World</div>"
            }
            """;

        HttpClient client = HttpClient.newHttpClient();
        HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
            .uri(URI.create("https://blueutils.com/api/html/html-decoder"))
            .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
            .POST(HttpRequest.BodyPublishers.ofString(jsonPayload))
            .build();

        HttpResponse<String> response = client.send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
        System.out.println(response.body());
    }
}

API Response Parameters

API Response Payload Examples

Success Response (HTTP 200 OK)

{
  "isValid": true,
  "entityCount": 4,
  "decodedText": "<div class=\"card\">Hello & World</div>",
  "output": "<div class=\"card\">Hello & World</div>"
}

Validation Failure Response (HTTP 400 Bad Request)

{
  "isValid": false,
  "error": "Invalid input: HTML entity payload to decode cannot be empty."
}

Rate Limit Exceeded Response (HTTP 429 Too Many Requests)

{
  "error": "API rate limit exceeded. Please wait or contact support@blueutils.com."
}

Why use an API to decode HTML entities?

Integrating the HTML Entity Decoder API into web crawlers, log ingestion tools, or AI agent tool calling provides key benefits:

• Rapid Script Validation: Unescapes serialized HTML payloads from database records and API error responses automatically.
• Optimized Token Efficiency for AI Agents: LLMs frequently struggle with double-escaped HTML entities. Invoking the API normalizes text deterministically without consuming token budget.
• Deterministic Accuracy Without Hallucinations: Ensures 100% accurate named, decimal, and hexadecimal entity resolution.

Native Usage

How to decode HTML entities locally in terminal environments or scripts:

Windows (CMD / PowerShell)

# Decode HTML entities in PowerShell
[System.Net.WebUtility]::HtmlDecode('<div>Hello & World</div>')

Linux / Unix (Bash)

# Decode HTML entities using Python in Linux
python3 -c "import html; print(html.unescape('<div>Hello & World</div>'))"

Python

Using Python html.unescape:

import html

encoded_text = '<div class="card">Hello & World</div>'
decoded_text = html.unescape(encoded_text)
print("Decoded:", decoded_text)

Java

Using Java String.replace:

public class HtmlDecoderExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String encoded = "<div>Hello & World</div>";
        String decoded = encoded.replace("&", "&")
                                .replace("&lt;", "<")
                                .replace("&gt;", ">")
                                .replace("&quot;", "\"");
        System.out.println(decoded);
    }
}