What about invalid entities?

Invalid named entities (&invalid;) are typically passed through unchanged. Numeric entities outside valid Unicode range may throw errors or produce replacement characters. Handle edge cases based on your data source.

How do I decode just some entities?

Full decoding converts all entities. To decode selectively (just & but not <), use targeted replacement rather than full decoding.

HTML Entities Decoder

Guide & TutorialOffline

Decode HTML entities to plain text

Decode HTML entities to plain text instantly with our free online HTML decoder tool. This decoder helps web developers and content managers convert HTML entities like &, <, >, and " back into readable characters for editing and analysis. Simply paste your HTML-encoded text and get the decoded output in real-time.

HTML Encoded Input

0 characters

Decoded Output

About HTML Entities Decoder

HTML decoding converts HTML entities back to their original characters. This is needed when processing HTML content that contains encoded entities, extracting plain text from HTML, or working with data that was HTML-encoded for safe storage.

How It Works

The decoder identifies entity patterns (&name; or &#number; or &#xhex;) and replaces them with corresponding characters. Named entities use a lookup table, numeric entities convert the number to its Unicode character.

Technical Details

Entity types: named (& → &), decimal (& → &), hexadecimal (& → &). There are 252 named entities in HTML5. Numeric entities support any Unicode code point. Invalid entities may be passed through unchanged or trigger errors.

Common Use Cases

Extract Plain Text

Convert HTML content to plain text for processing.

& and <br> → & and <br>

API Data Processing

Decode HTML-encoded data received from APIs.

Search Indexing

Convert HTML content to searchable plain text.

Data Migration

Decode legacy data that was stored HTML-encoded.

Code Examples

JavaScript HTML Decoding

javascript

// Using DOM (browser)
function htmlDecode(str) {
  const doc = new DOMParser().parseFromString(str, 'text/html');
  return doc.documentElement.textContent;
}

// Using textarea (browser, simpler)
function htmlDecode(str) {
  const textarea = document.createElement('textarea');
  textarea.innerHTML = str;
  return textarea.value;
}

// Node.js (he library)
import he from 'he';
he.decode('&lt;div&gt;');  // '<div>'

Browser DOM decodes automatically. For Node.js, use the he library for comprehensive entity support.

Python HTML Decoding

python

import html

# Decode entities
text = html.unescape('&lt;script&gt;')
# '<script>'

# Handles numeric entities too
text = html.unescape('&#60;&#x3E;')
# '<>'

# BeautifulSoup for HTML content
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
soup = BeautifulSoup(html_content, 'html.parser')
plain_text = soup.get_text()

html.unescape decodes all HTML entities. BeautifulSoup extracts plain text from HTML documents.

Tips & Best Practices

Use DOM-based decoding in browsers for safety
Be careful decoding content that will go back into HTML
Test with various entity types (named, decimal, hex)
Consider using libraries for comprehensive entity support
Decode only when moving to non-HTML context

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Decoding then re-encoding (wastes processing)
Decoding user input that will be displayed in HTML (XSS risk)
Not handling numeric entities (' vs ')
Assuming all entities are valid

When to Use This Tool

Use HTML decoding when extracting text from HTML, processing HTML-encoded API responses, or converting data for non-HTML display. Always consider security when decoded content will be displayed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Decode when: extracting plain text from HTML, processing API data that's HTML-encoded, migrating data between systems, or displaying in non-HTML contexts. Don't decode if you're going to display in HTML again.

// Using DOM (browser) function htmlDecode(str) { const doc = new DOMParser().parseFromString(str, 'text/html'); return doc.documentElement.textContent; } // Using textarea (browser, simpler) function htmlDecode(str) { const textarea = document.createElement('textarea'); textarea.innerHTML = str; return textarea.value; } // Node.js (he library) import he from 'he'; he.decode('<div>'); // '<div>'

import html # Decode entities text = html.unescape('<script>') # '<script>' # Handles numeric entities too text = html.unescape('<>') # '<>' # BeautifulSoup for HTML content from bs4 import BeautifulSoup soup = BeautifulSoup(html_content, 'html.parser') plain_text = soup.get_text()