HTML-decode Text
Turn HTML entities back into plain characters. Runs entirely in your browser, so your data never leaves your device.
0 chars · 0 lines
Output
The result appears here as you type.
How to use HTML-decode Text
- 1. Paste the HTML-encoded text. Paste the text containing HTML entities you want converted back into the input pane. HTML-decode Text turns sequences like & and é back into their original characters.
- 2. Check the decoded characters. The output shows accented letters, symbols and punctuation restored to their normal form, replacing every named and numeric entity it recognizes anywhere in the pasted passage.
- 3. Copy the decoded text. Click copy on the output pane and use the plain text in place of the entity-laden version scraped from a web page or exported from a CMS.
When to use HTML-decode Text
HTML-decode Text converts entities like &, < and numeric codes such as é back into their original characters. Use it whenever text arrives from a web source still wrapped in HTML escaping instead of plain readable characters.
- Reading text scraped from a web page. Content scraped from a page's HTML source often keeps its entities intact, showing café instead of cafe with an accent. Decoding it here restores the readable version before further processing.
- Decoding entities from an RSS feed. An RSS or Atom feed frequently escapes its article summaries as HTML entities. Pasting a feed item here turns it back into normal punctuation and accented letters.
- Cleaning up copy exported from a CMS. Text exported from a content management system sometimes keeps its entity encoding instead of resolving it. Decoding it here gives a clean version ready for a new document.
Examples
Decode entities
Input
café & tea
Output
café & tea
About the HTML-decode Text tool
HTML-decode Text is a free online tool that works entirely inside your web browser. Turn HTML entities back into plain characters. Because the processing happens on your own device, nothing you enter is uploaded, logged or stored anywhere.
This page is one of 211 Text utilities on EditSafely. Each one does a single job well, and all of them follow the same rule: your input stays on your machine.
There is nothing to configure. Provide the input and the result appears on its own. A worked example further down the page shows exactly what the tool produces for a real input.
Because nothing leaves your device, the tool is suitable for sensitive content such as internal documents, credentials or customer data. It also responds instantly, since every keystroke is handled on your own machine rather than by a remote API.
Frequently asked questions
Is HTML-decode Text free to use?
Yes, it is completely free. All 2,658 tools on EditSafely work without an account, a subscription or usage limits.
Is it safe to paste sensitive or confidential data?
Everything happens locally. Your browser downloads the tool's code once, then does all the processing itself; nothing you enter is transmitted, stored or logged. You can even go offline after the page loads and it will still work.
How much text can I process at once?
There is no fixed limit. Because the work happens on your own device rather than on a shared server, the practical ceiling is your machine's memory, which comfortably handles inputs far larger than typical online tools allow.
Do I need to sign up or install anything?
No. The tool works in any modern browser on desktop, tablet or phone. There is no account to create, no extension to add and no software to install.
How do I use the result?
The output panel has a one-click copy button, and you can keep refining the input while you work; the result updates in place as you type.