HTML Entities Encoder/Decoder API Reference

Overview

HTML Entities Encoder/Decoder works by converting characters like <, >, &, quotes, and slashes into their HTML entity equivalents or decoding them back to original characters. Essential for XSS prevention.

Endpoint

One host, one path per API. The block below shows this call in four languages; every one of them is the same HTTP request. Making requests covers the timeouts, retries and parameter rules that apply to all of them. The SDKs wrap the same call in a typed client.

POSThttps://api.apiverve.com/v1/htmlentities

curl -X POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/htmlentities \
  -H "x-api-key: your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "html": "<div class=\"test\">Hello & World</div>",
  "action": "encode"
}'

const res = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/htmlentities', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'x-api-key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
  "html": "<div class=\"test\">Hello & World</div>",
  "action": "encode"
}),
});

if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);

const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);

import requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/htmlentities",
    headers={"x-api-key": "your_api_key_here"},
    json={
    "html": "<div class=\"test\">Hello & World</div>",
    "action": "encode"
},
    timeout=15,
)
res.raise_for_status()

print(res.json()["data"])

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
	"strings"
)

func main() {
	body := strings.NewReader(`{
  "html": "<div class=\"test\">Hello & World</div>",
  "action": "encode"
}`)
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/htmlentities", body)
	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
	req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "your_api_key_here")

	res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	out, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(out))
}

Replace your_api_key_here with the key from your dashboard. When the inputs arrive as a list rather than one at a time, batch requests run up to 200 of them through this same API in a single call.

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — there is no token exchange and no per-endpoint scope to configure. Authentication covers creating, rotating and revoking keys.

401 is the only auth verdict

A 401 means the key is missing, invalid or expired. A 403 means the key is valid but not permitted here — blocked by a key restriction or an IP allow-list. Running out of credits is a 429.

Parameters

Sent as JSON in the request body. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

Parameter	Type	Description
`html`Required	string	The HTML content to encode
`action`Optional	string	The action to perform `encodedecode` default encode

Response

Every API returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape. Response format covers the envelope, the other output formats and how premium fields are withheld.

Sample response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "action": "encode",
    "original": "<div class=\"test\">Hello & World</div>",
    "encoded": "&lt;div class=&quot;test&quot;&gt;Hello &amp; World&lt;&#x2F;div&gt;",
    "entities_replaced": [
      "<",
      "\"",
      ">",
      "&",
      "/"
    ],
    "count": 8
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Field	Type	Example	Description
`action`	string	`"encode"`	The action performed on the HTML content
`original`	string	`"<div class="test">Hello & World</div>"`	The original HTML entities before decoding
`encoded`	string	`"<div class="test">Hello & World</div>"`	The HTML content with entities decoded
`entities_replaced`	array	`[<, ...]`	Array of entity patterns that were replaced
`count`	number	`8`	Total number of entity replacements made

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change. Error handling covers the full status list and which of them are worth retrying.

Status	Meaning	What to do
`400`	Input was rejected	Read `error`; it names the parameter.
`401`	Key missing or invalid	Check the header name and the key value.
`403`	Key valid, but not permitted	A key restriction or IP allow-list; see key scoping.
`429`	Rate limited, or out of credits	Read `error` to tell them apart; see rate limits.

Use cases

XSS Prevention: Encode user input before displaying in HTML to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks
Data Display: Decode HTML entities in stored content to display special characters correctly in web applications
Content Migration: Encode or decode HTML entities when migrating content between systems with different encoding requirements
API Integration: Properly encode HTML content before sending to APIs or decode entities received from external sources

Other ways to use HTML Entities Encoder/Decoder

Set up HTML Entities Encoder/Decoder on APIVerve, or reach the same source a different way. Your APIVerve account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

Give it to an AI agentConnect over MCP and your agent calls it as a native tool — Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT.VerveKit →Reference →

Use it in Google Sheets or ExcelA =VERVE() formula fills a column — no script, no export, recalculates in place.VerveSheets →Reference →

HTML Entities Encoder/Decoder