String Escape / Unescape

Escape or unescape strings for JSON, JavaScript, HTML entities, SQL, and regular expressions.

Raw Input

Escaped Output

About This Tool

The String Escape / Unescape tool handles five common escaping contexts. JSON / JS String mode escapes characters like ", \, newlines, tabs, and control characters using JSON-standard escape sequences. JS Template Literal mode escapes backticks and$${} interpolation. HTML Entities mode converts&, <, >, ", and' in both directions. SQL mode escapes single quotes by doubling them (ANSI SQL standard). RegExp mode escapes special regex metacharacters for use in a pattern.

How to Use

Select Escape or Unescape mode.
Click a language button (JSON, JS, HTML, SQL, or RegExp).
Paste your input or click Sample to load an example.
The output updates instantly. Click Copy to copy the result.

Use Cases

Developers escape strings before embedding them in JSON payloads or dynamic SQL queries. Front-end engineers escape HTML content before inserting into innerHTMLto prevent XSS. Regex authors escape literal strings to use them safely as patterns in new RegExp(). Back-end engineers unescape JSON strings from API logs to inspect the raw content. SQL developers escape user input before building parameterized queries or stored procedures.

FAQ

Should I use this to sanitize SQL inputs in production? — No. Always use parameterized queries or prepared statements in production. String escaping is a manual fallback and is error-prone. This tool is for inspection and learning, not production sanitization.
What does "unescape" do for RegExp? — RegExp unescape is context-dependent and not well-defined (removing a backslash can change the meaning). This mode returns the input unchanged — manually remove escape sequences for specific cases.
Does JSON escape handle Unicode characters? — Control characters (U+0000–U+001F) are encoded as \uXXXX. Printable Unicode characters above U+007F are left as-is (valid JSON allows them).
What is the difference between JSON and JS Template Literal escaping? — JSON strings are delimited by double quotes and escape ". Template literals are delimited by backticks and escape ` and ${} instead.