PHP 8 reference · String Functions

PHP rawurlencode() Function

Encode a string per RFC 3986: spaces become %20. Use it for URL path segments.

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Syntax

rawurlencode(string $string): string

Parameter	Description
`string`	The input string.

The encoded string.

Encode a path segmentTry it yourself

<?php
$file = "my report (final).pdf";
echo "https://example.com/files/" . rawurlencode($file), "\n";

Output

https://example.com/files/my%20report%20%28final%29.pdf

Decode itTry it yourself

<?php
echo rawurldecode("my%20report%20%28final%29.pdf"), "\n";

Output

my report (final).pdf

Version	Change
PHP 4.0	Added

urlencode() · Encode a string for a URL query value: spaces become + and special characters become %XX codes.
http_build_query() · Build a URL-encoded query string, such as page=2&sort=name, from an array. Nested arrays become key[]=... pairs.
PHP Strings · tutorial