Keeping source code ASCII-only
Escaping the non-ASCII characters lets a string containing accents or emoji live in a file that must remain plain ASCII.
Unicode Escape
Convert text into Unicode escape sequences in your browser, handling characters above the basic plane.
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Browse all developer and data toolsAbout Unicode Escape
A Unicode escape sequence writes a character as a code like backslash-u followed by its hex code point, and it exists for the places where a raw character cannot safely appear. Source code that must stay pure ASCII, a JSON string being embedded somewhere fussy, a config file whose encoding you do not trust: in all of them, escaping the non-ASCII characters sidesteps the question of whether the file's encoding will survive. The subtlety that trips up naive tools is characters above the basic multilingual plane - emoji, some scripts, rarer symbols - which do not fit in the four-hex-digit form and are stored internally as two halves. A tool that escapes each half produces sequences that decode to broken characters. This one walks the text by code point and uses the longer brace form for those characters, so they round-trip correctly.
Using Unicode Escape
- The text is walked by code point rather than by character unit, so a character above the basic plane is treated as one thing, not two halves.
- Printable ASCII is left as it is, since the point is to escape only what needs escaping.
- A character within the basic plane is written as a four-hex-digit escape.
- A character above the basic plane - an emoji, for instance - is written in the brace form that can hold its longer code point.
- The result is text safe to place where only ASCII is welcome, and it decodes back exactly.
Where unicode escape helps
Embedding text somewhere encoding-fragile
When you are not sure the destination preserves UTF-8, escaping the risky characters avoids the question entirely.
Before you use the result
- Escaping every character would be valid but unreadable; only non-ASCII characters are escaped here, which is the useful default.
- The brace form for high code points is understood by modern tools; a very old parser expecting only the four-digit form may not handle it.
- This escapes for the common backslash-u convention. Some languages use a different escape syntax.
- Escaping already-escaped text will escape the backslashes, so escape raw text once.
- It is a representation, not encryption.
Questions about Unicode Escape
Why are emoji written with braces?
Because they are above the basic plane and do not fit the four-digit form. The brace form holds the longer code point and decodes correctly.
Does it escape ordinary letters?
No. Printable ASCII is left alone; only non-ASCII characters are escaped.
Will it round-trip?
Yes, through the unicode unescape tool, because high characters use the correct longer form.
Is this the JavaScript escape format?
It uses the common backslash-u convention, including the brace form for high code points that modern JavaScript supports.
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