Encode or decode a Punycode domain

How it works

1. 1

   Select Encode for a Unicode domain or Decode for an xn-- domain.

2. 2

   Type the domain into the input field.

3. 3

   Press the selected button again to convert it.

4. 4

   Copy the converted domain.

About the Punycode Converter

Domain names can contain letters like ü, ç or Chinese characters, but DNS only carries plain ASCII. Punycode bridges the two by turning each non-ASCII label into an ASCII form that begins with xn--. This tool converts an internationalised domain into that form and back, so you can see what a browser actually looks up and spot lookalike domains.

What you can do

• Encode a Unicode domain such as münchen.de into its xn-- form.
• Decode xn-- labels back into readable Unicode, one label at a time.
• Leave plain ASCII labels such as .com or www unchanged.
• Swap the result into the input to reverse the conversion.

When it works best

• Setting up DNS records or SSL certificates for a domain with accented characters.
• Checking whether a link that looks like a familiar brand is really an xn-- lookalike.
• Reading internationalised domains that appear in punycode form in server logs.

Things to know

• Encoding uses your browser's own URL handling, and nothing is sent to a server.
• Enter a domain name only, without https:// or a path. Encoding also lowercases the domain and applies the browser's normalisation rules.
• Decoding does not check that the result is a valid or registered domain.
• To percent-encode a path or query string, use URL Encode/Decode instead.

Frequently asked questions