URL Parser
Inspect URL components and repeated query parameters without a request.
Working notes
Use URL Parser with the boundary visible.
URL Parser separates an absolute web or socket URL into its normalized scheme, credentials, host, port, path, query entries, fragment, and origin without making a request.
What is URL Parser?
A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a structured string that identifies the location of a resource on the internet. Every URL has a defined anatomy: scheme (https://), optional credentials (user:pass@), host (api.example.com), optional port (:8080), path (/items), query string (?tag=edge&limit=10), and fragment (#results). Understanding this structure is essential for debugging API calls, constructing redirect URLs, validating OAuth callback URIs, configuring CORS origins, and diagnosing routing issues. A URL parser breaks a URL into its components using the same WHATWG URL Standard that browsers use internally, so you see exactly how the browser will interpret the address. This tool normalizes the URL (lowercasing the scheme and host, resolving default ports, percent-decoding where safe) and lists each query parameter individually — including repeated keys, which servers receive as arrays. No network request is made: the URL is parsed locally using the browser's built-in URL API.
When to use it
- Debugging API requests — paste a long URL with encoded query parameters to see each parameter decoded and listed separately.
- Validating OAuth redirect URIs — confirm that the scheme, host, port, and path exactly match the registered redirect URI.
- Configuring CORS — extract the origin (scheme + host + port) from a URL to add it to your CORS allowlist.
- Diagnosing routing issues — check whether the path, query parameters, or fragment contain unexpected values that cause 404s or wrong routes.
- URL encoding audits — verify that special characters in query values are properly percent-encoded and not double-encoded.
How to use it
- 01Paste an absolute URL that includes a supported scheme (HTTP, HTTPS, WS, WSS, FTP).
- 02The parser immediately breaks it into components: scheme, host, port, path, query parameters, fragment, and origin.
- 03Inspect repeated query keys individually — each occurrence is listed separately.
- 04Copy any individual component for use in your configuration or code.
Common mistakes
- Confusing URL encoding of the full URL vs components — only query parameter values and path segments should be percent-encoded, not the delimiters (?, &, =, /).
- Missing trailing slashes — https://example.com and https://example.com/ may route differently depending on your server. The parser shows the exact path.
- Port confusion — https://example.com (port 443) and https://example.com:443 are the same origin, but https://example.com:8443 is a different origin for CORS purposes.
- Fragment vs server-side routing — the fragment (#section) is never sent to the server. If your server routing depends on the fragment, the URL is misconfigured.
- Relative URLs — this tool requires absolute URLs. A relative path like "/api/items" needs a base URL to resolve completely.
Synthetic example
Inspect an API request URL
Input
https://api.example.test/items?tag=edge&tag=stable#results
Result
Host api.example.test; two tag parameters; fragment #results
Related standards
Limits and data boundary
- Relative references require an explicit base and are therefore rejected by this tool.
- Parsing confirms URL syntax but does not establish whether the destination exists or is trustworthy.
Frequently asked questions
- What URL schemes are supported?
- HTTP, HTTPS, WS, WSS, FTP, and other standard schemes. Relative URLs are rejected because they require a base URL for resolution.
- How are repeated query parameters handled?
- Each occurrence of a query key is listed separately so you can see the exact values a server receives, including duplicate keys.
- Does parsing a URL make a network request?
- No. The URL is parsed locally using the browser's built-in URL API. No request is sent to the parsed destination.
- What is the difference between a URL and a URI?
- A URL is a type of URI that specifies how to access a resource (includes a scheme like https://). A URI is a broader term that includes both URLs and URNs (names without access instructions).
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