HTML Escape
Convert reserved characters into HTML entities to safely display HTML text
HTML Escape converts a few reserved symbols into HTML entities so your text can be displayed as HTML code rather than rendered by the browser.
HTML Escape is a free online tool that converts a few reserved symbols into their corresponding HTML entities. It helps you escape HTML text online when you need special characters to appear as literal text instead of being interpreted as markup. The tool converts characters such as ampersand (&), less than (<), greater than (>), apostrophe ('), and quotes (") into entities like &, <, >, ', and ". This is useful when you want to quickly and easily display HTML code in a webpage, documentation, or examples without the browser rendering it.
What HTML Escape Does
- Escapes a few reserved HTML characters by converting them into HTML entities
- Converts ampersand (&) to &
- Converts less-than (<) to < and greater-than (>) to >
- Converts apostrophe (') to ' and quotes (") to "
- Helps you display HTML code as text on a webpage instead of having it rendered
How to Use HTML Escape
- Paste or type the text that contains reserved HTML characters
- Run the HTML escape conversion
- Copy the escaped result (with HTML entities)
- Use the output in your webpage, documentation, or code snippet where you want HTML to be displayed as text
- If needed, test the result where it will be shown to confirm it displays correctly
Why People Use HTML Escape
- To show HTML tags and code examples without the browser interpreting them
- To replace reserved characters with safe entity equivalents for display purposes
- To avoid accidental markup rendering when presenting HTML in tutorials or documentation
- To speed up simple conversions without writing manual replacements
- To keep examples readable and consistent across different environments
Key Features
- Free online HTML escaping in the browser
- Converts a defined set of reserved symbols into HTML entities
- Produces output that is easy to copy and reuse
- Useful for displaying HTML code on webpages and in documentation
- No installation required
Common Use Cases
- Displaying HTML snippets inside an article, blog post, or help page
- Preparing examples for developer documentation or training materials
- Escaping characters before posting HTML examples in forums or ticket systems
- Creating safe-to-display text for UI labels, notes, or content blocks that must show symbols literally
- Converting quick samples when you only need common reserved characters escaped
What You Get
- Text where reserved symbols are replaced by HTML entities
- Escaped output that can be displayed as literal HTML code
- Cleaner, safer presentation of HTML examples for readers
- A quick way to prepare HTML text for display without manual replacements
Who This Tool Is For
- Developers who need to display HTML code examples
- Technical writers creating documentation with inline HTML snippets
- Students learning HTML who want to show tags as text
- Support teams sharing reproducible HTML examples in tickets or knowledge bases
- Anyone who needs to escape HTML reserved characters for display
Before and After Using HTML Escape
- Before: HTML-like text is interpreted by the browser and may render instead of showing as code
- After: The same text displays as literal characters because reserved symbols are converted to entities
- Before: Manual find-and-replace for &, <, >, ' and " is slow and error-prone
- After: Entities are generated automatically and consistently
- Before: Code samples can break formatting or become hard to read in a webpage
- After: Code samples remain readable and safe to display as plain text
Why Users Trust HTML Escape
- Focused functionality: converts a small set of reserved symbols to standard HTML entities
- Clear, predictable output designed for displaying HTML code as text
- Works online directly in the browser without installation
- Useful for everyday documentation and code-sharing workflows
- Part of the i2TEXT collection of simple, task-focused online tools
Important Limitations
- This tool converts only a few reserved symbols into HTML entities (such as &, <, >, ' and ")
- It is intended for escaping HTML for display; it is not a full HTML sanitizer or security filter
- If you need broader entity conversion beyond the listed symbols, you may require a different approach
- Always validate output in the environment where it will be displayed to ensure it meets your formatting needs
- Escaping helps with display of HTML code examples, but it does not replace secure handling practices for untrusted input
Other Names People Use
Users may search for HTML Escape using terms like escape HTML, HTML escaper, HTML escape online, convert to HTML entities, or encode reserved HTML characters.
HTML Escape vs Other Ways to Escape HTML
How does HTML Escape compare to manually replacing characters or using other encoders?
- HTML Escape (i2TEXT): Quickly converts a few reserved symbols (&, <, >, ', ") into standard HTML entities for display
- Manual replacement: Works for small snippets but can be slow and inconsistent, especially when you repeat the task often
- General-purpose encoders/libraries: Can handle broader character sets, but may be more than you need for simple display cases
- Use HTML Escape when: You want a fast, browser-based way to escape common reserved HTML characters so HTML code shows as text
HTML Escape – FAQs
HTML Escape is a free online tool that converts a few reserved symbols into HTML entities so the text can be displayed as HTML code rather than rendered.
It converts ampersand (&), less than (<), greater than (>), apostrophe ('), and quotes (") into their HTML entity forms: &, <, >, ', and ".
Escaping HTML is commonly used when you want to display HTML code examples on a webpage or in documentation without the browser interpreting the content as markup.
No. It is intended to convert a few reserved characters to HTML entities for display purposes. Secure handling of untrusted content typically requires additional measures beyond basic escaping.
No. HTML Escape runs online in your browser.
Escape HTML Characters in Seconds
Paste your text to convert reserved symbols into HTML entities and display HTML code safely as readable text.
Related Tools
Why HTML Escape ?
The web, a vast and interconnected network, thrives on the exchange of information. This exchange, however, opens doors to vulnerabilities, and one of the most critical defenses against these vulnerabilities is HTML escaping. Often overlooked by novice developers, HTML escaping is a fundamental practice that safeguards web applications from a range of security threats, ensuring data integrity, and maintaining a positive user experience. Its importance cannot be overstated, forming a cornerstone of secure web development.
At its core, HTML escaping involves converting potentially harmful characters into their corresponding HTML entities. Certain characters, such as `<`, `>`, `&`, `"` and `'`, hold special meaning within HTML. When these characters are interpreted as HTML code rather than literal text, they can be exploited to inject malicious scripts or manipulate the structure of a webpage. For instance, the `<` character signals the beginning of an HTML tag. If a user-supplied input containing this character is rendered directly onto a page without proper escaping, it can be interpreted as the start of a new, potentially malicious tag.
The most prominent threat that HTML escaping mitigates is Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). XSS attacks occur when an attacker injects malicious scripts, typically JavaScript, into a website that unsuspecting users then execute. These scripts can steal user credentials, redirect users to phishing sites, deface the website, or perform other harmful actions. Without HTML escaping, user-supplied data becomes a potential vector for XSS attacks. Imagine a website that allows users to leave comments. If comments are rendered directly without escaping, an attacker could submit a comment containing a malicious script, such as ``. When other users view this comment, their browsers would execute the script, potentially sending their cookies to the attacker. HTML escaping would transform the `<` into `<`, the `>` into `>`, and so on, rendering the script harmlessly as plain text.
Beyond XSS prevention, HTML escaping plays a crucial role in maintaining data integrity. Without it, user-supplied data containing special characters can corrupt the structure of a webpage, leading to unexpected behavior and display errors. For example, if a user enters text containing unescaped quotation marks within an HTML attribute, it can prematurely terminate the attribute, potentially breaking the layout or functionality of the page. By escaping these quotation marks, the data is rendered correctly and the integrity of the page is preserved.
Furthermore, HTML escaping contributes significantly to a positive user experience. Displaying user-generated content correctly is paramount for building trust and credibility. When special characters are not properly escaped, they can appear as gibberish or cause the page to render incorrectly, leading to frustration and a negative perception of the website. Escaping ensures that user-supplied data is displayed as intended, fostering a more professional and user-friendly environment.
The implementation of HTML escaping is relatively straightforward. Most programming languages and web frameworks provide built-in functions or libraries specifically designed for this purpose. These functions automatically convert the potentially harmful characters into their corresponding HTML entities. For example, in Python, the `html` module provides the `escape()` function, while in PHP, the `htmlspecialchars()` function is commonly used. These functions should be applied to any user-supplied data before it is rendered onto a webpage.
It is important to note that HTML escaping should be applied consistently and contextually. While it is crucial for displaying data within the HTML body, it may not be necessary or appropriate in other contexts, such as within JavaScript code or database queries. In these cases, other forms of escaping or sanitization may be required. For instance, when inserting data into a database, it is essential to use parameterized queries or prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks. Similarly, when working with JavaScript, proper encoding and sanitization techniques should be employed to avoid JavaScript injection vulnerabilities.
In conclusion, HTML escaping is a fundamental security practice that is essential for protecting web applications from a wide range of threats, including XSS attacks. It ensures data integrity, maintains a positive user experience, and contributes to the overall security posture of a website. By consistently applying HTML escaping to user-supplied data before rendering it onto a webpage, developers can significantly reduce the risk of vulnerabilities and create more secure and reliable web applications. Its simplicity belies its power, making it an indispensable tool in the arsenal of any web developer committed to building secure and trustworthy online experiences. The seemingly small act of converting a few special characters can have a profound impact on the security and stability of the entire web ecosystem.