urldecode

The urldecode operation decodes a URL-encoded string back into its original form. It reverses the transformations applied by urlencode, converting percent-encoded sequences (%xx) and plus signs (+) back into their original characters.

How it works

• Input – a URL-encoded string.
• Output – the decoded string.
• Decoding rules:
  • + is converted back to a space.
  • %xx hex sequences are converted back into the corresponding ASCII/UTF-8 characters.
  • Characters that are not encoded remain unchanged.

Examples

Usage in PalDock

Use urldecode when you need to:

• Convert query string parameters back into human-readable text.
• Restore original values (names, emails, phone numbers) from encoded links.
• Process incoming webhooks or API responses that send values in URL-encoded form.
• Debug or validate encoded values.

Best Practices

• Always decode values if you need to display them to users or pass them to systems expecting plain text.
• Be cautious when decoding unknown input — malformed %xx sequences may cause unexpected results.
• Use together with urlencode for reliable round-trip encoding/decoding.
• If the input comes from untrusted sources, apply sanitization after decoding to prevent injection issues.

References

• PHP Manual: urldecode
• RFC 3986: Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax