ASCII and Character Encoding Basics
How ASCII codes work — decimal, hex, encode/decode text, and when to use an ASCII decoder online.
ASCII assigns numeric codes to 128 characters (0–127). Extended ASCII and Unicode expanded this to support international characters. UTF-8 encodes Unicode using variable-length byte sequences — but debugging often starts with raw decimal or hex codes.
Common ASCII codes
- A = 65, a = 97
- 0 = 48
- Space = 32
- Newline (LF) = 10
- Tab = 9
- Hello = 72 101 108 108 111 (decimal)
When you need an ASCII decoder
- Log files show decimal character codes instead of text
- Serial or protocol dumps use hex byte values
- CTF challenges and encoding homework
- Verifying output from scripts that print char codes
ASCII workbench features
- Char → Code tab with decimal and hex table per character
- Code → Char tab accepts decimal (72 101) or hex (0x48) codes
- Dedicated ASCII decoder URL for reverse conversion
- Shareable links preserve input and active tab