What's the difference between \uXXXX and \u{...} escapes?

\uXXXX is the classic JavaScript escape and only covers one UTF-16 code unit at a time, so characters above U+FFFF need two of them as a surrogate pair; \u{...} is the ES6 code point escape and represents the full character in a single sequence.

Can I decode HTML entities and \u escapes in the same text?

Yes, decode mode looks for \u{...}, \uXXXX, U+XXXX, and both hex and decimal HTML entities in a single pass, so a string mixing several escape styles is converted back to plain text in one step.

Why does an emoji produce two \uXXXX escapes instead of one?

Emoji and other characters outside the Basic Multilingual Plane don't fit in one 16-bit code unit, so JavaScript represents them as a surrogate pair, and the JS \uXXXX format mirrors that by emitting two escapes for that single visible character.

Is my text sent to a server to be encoded or decoded?

No, both directions are plain string transforms that run in your browser tab using the input's character codes, so the text and its escaped form never leave your device during conversion.

Text to Unicode

Convert text to Unicode escapes (\uXXXX, U+, HTML entities) and back, locally.

Local, Runs entirely in your browser, your data never leaves your device.

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Convert text to Unicode escapes and back

This tool converts plain text into Unicode escape sequences in four formats, JS \uXXXX, ES6 \u{...}, U+XXXX and HTML &#x…; entities, and decodes any mix of those formats back into text. It's useful when you're debugging a mangled string, building a JavaScript or CSS literal that needs an escaped character, or need to paste a code point reference into documentation. Encoding and decoding both run as string operations in your browser, so nothing you type is sent anywhere.

How to use the Text to Unicode

Choose Text → Unicode or Unicode → Text with the mode switch.
In encode mode, pick a format: JS \uXXXX, ES6 \u{...}, U+XXXX or HTML &#x…;.
Type or paste your input into the left panel.
Read the converted result on the right, or use the swap button to flip direction and feed the output back in.
Copy the result with the copy button.

JS \uXXXX encoding works on UTF-16 code units, so a character outside the Basic Multilingual Plane, like most emoji, becomes a surrogate pair of two escapes rather than one; the ES6, U+ and HTML formats instead encode full code points, producing one escape per visible character. Decoding accepts any mixture of the four formats in the same input.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between \uXXXX and \u{...} escapes?: \uXXXX is the classic JavaScript escape and only covers one UTF-16 code unit at a time, so characters above U+FFFF need two of them as a surrogate pair; \u{...} is the ES6 code point escape and represents the full character in a single sequence.
Can I decode HTML entities and \u escapes in the same text?: Yes, decode mode looks for \u{...}, \uXXXX, U+XXXX, and both hex and decimal HTML entities in a single pass, so a string mixing several escape styles is converted back to plain text in one step.
Why does an emoji produce two \uXXXX escapes instead of one?: Emoji and other characters outside the Basic Multilingual Plane don't fit in one 16-bit code unit, so JavaScript represents them as a surrogate pair, and the JS \uXXXX format mirrors that by emitting two escapes for that single visible character.
Is my text sent to a server to be encoded or decoded?: No, both directions are plain string transforms that run in your browser tab using the input's character codes, so the text and its escaped form never leave your device during conversion.