UTF-8 Encoder/Decoder – Text, Bytes, and Hex
Encode text to UTF-8 bytes or hex, decode UTF-8 byte arrays and hex strings back to text, with Unicode normalization and tolerant decoding options.
What is UTF-8 and how does it encode text?
UTF-8 is a variable‑length character encoding for Unicode. ASCII characters use 1 byte; other characters use 2–4 bytes depending on their code point.
For example: "A" → 41 (hex) / 65 (decimal), and "€" → E2 82 AC (hex) / 226,130,172 (decimal). It is the most widely used web encoding because it is compact, backward‑compatible with ASCII, and robust across systems.
How do I convert text to UTF-8 bytes or hex?
Select an encode mode (Text → UTF‑8 Hex or Text → UTF‑8 Bytes). Paste your text; the tool outputs UTF‑8 bytes as either hex pairs or decimal values.
Example: "Hi" → Hex: 48 69, Bytes (decimal): 72,105. You can choose separators (spaces, commas, or new lines) to suit your workflow.
How do I decode UTF-8 hex or decimal byte sequences back to text?
Pick a decode mode (UTF‑8 Hex → Text or UTF‑8 Bytes → Text). Paste your bytes; spaces, commas, and new lines are all accepted and automatically parsed.
Examples: E2 82 AC → "€". 226,130,172 → "€". The tool reconstructs the original text with a UTF‑8 decoder.
What does “tolerant decode” do?
Tolerant decode replaces invalid or incomplete byte sequences with the replacement character (�, U+FFFD) instead of throwing an error. Enable it when your input may contain mistakes, truncation, or mixed formats.
Disable it (strict mode) to surface and validate errors in malformed data.
What are Unicode normalization forms (NFC and NFD)?
Normalization makes equivalent Unicode sequences consistent.
NFC composes characters (e.g., "é" is a single code point). NFD decomposes them (e.g., "e" + "́"). Use normalization to ensure consistent storage, comparison, and display across systems that may treat composed and decomposed forms differently.
How are separators and whitespace handled in byte input?
You can separate bytes with spaces, commas, or new lines—multiple separators are automatically collapsed. Hex input should be provided as pairs (e.g., E2 82 AC). Decimal input can be comma‑separated (e.g., 226,130,172) or line‑separated.
Can I inspect Unicode code points for the result?
Yes. Enable “Show code points” to see a list like U+0041 U+20AC for the current output. This helps debug exact characters and combining marks.