380 lines
		
	
	
		
			14 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Markdown
		
	
	
	
	
	
			
		
		
	
	
			380 lines
		
	
	
		
			14 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Markdown
		
	
	
	
	
	
# he [](https://travis-ci.org/mathiasbynens/he) [](https://codecov.io/github/mathiasbynens/he?branch=master) [](https://gemnasium.com/mathiasbynens/he)
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_he_ (for “HTML entities”) is a robust HTML entity encoder/decoder written in JavaScript. It supports [all standardized named character references as per HTML](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/syntax.html#named-character-references), handles [ambiguous ampersands](https://mathiasbynens.be/notes/ambiguous-ampersands) and other edge cases [just like a browser would](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/syntax.html#tokenizing-character-references), has an extensive test suite, and — contrary to many other JavaScript solutions — _he_ handles astral Unicode symbols just fine. [An online demo is available.](https://mothereff.in/html-entities)
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## Installation
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Via [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/):
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```bash
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npm install he
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```
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Via [Bower](http://bower.io/):
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```bash
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bower install he
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```
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Via [Component](https://github.com/component/component):
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```bash
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component install mathiasbynens/he
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```
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In a browser:
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```html
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<script src="he.js"></script>
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```
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In [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/), [io.js](https://iojs.org/), [Narwhal](http://narwhaljs.org/), and [RingoJS](http://ringojs.org/):
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```js
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var he = require('he');
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```
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In [Rhino](http://www.mozilla.org/rhino/):
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```js
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load('he.js');
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```
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Using an AMD loader like [RequireJS](http://requirejs.org/):
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```js
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require(
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  {
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    'paths': {
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      'he': 'path/to/he'
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    }
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  },
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  ['he'],
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  function(he) {
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    console.log(he);
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  }
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);
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```
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## API
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### `he.version`
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A string representing the semantic version number.
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### `he.encode(text, options)`
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This function takes a string of text and encodes (by default) any symbols that aren’t printable ASCII symbols and `&`, `<`, `>`, `"`, `'`, and `` ` ``, replacing them with character references.
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```js
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he.encode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux');
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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```
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As long as the input string contains [allowed code points](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/parsing.html#preprocessing-the-input-stream) only, the return value of this function is always valid HTML. Any [(invalid) code points that cannot be represented using a character reference](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/syntax.html#table-charref-overrides) in the input are not encoded:
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```js
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he.encode('foo \0 bar');
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// → 'foo \0 bar'
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```
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However, enabling [the `strict` option](https://github.com/mathiasbynens/he#strict) causes invalid code points to throw an exception. With `strict` enabled, `he.encode` either throws (if the input contains invalid code points) or returns a string of valid HTML.
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The `options` object is optional. It recognizes the following properties:
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#### `useNamedReferences`
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The default value for the `useNamedReferences` option is `false`. This means that `encode()` will not use any named character references (e.g. `©`) in the output — hexadecimal escapes (e.g. `©`) will be used instead. Set it to `true` to enable the use of named references.
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**Note that if compatibility with older browsers is a concern, this option should remain disabled.**
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```js
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// Using the global default setting (defaults to `false`):
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he.encode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux');
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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// Passing an `options` object to `encode`, to explicitly disallow named references:
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he.encode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux', {
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  'useNamedReferences': false
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});
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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// Passing an `options` object to `encode`, to explicitly allow named references:
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he.encode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux', {
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  'useNamedReferences': true
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});
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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```
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#### `decimal`
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The default value for the `decimal` option is `false`. If the option is enabled, `encode` will generally use decimal escapes (e.g. `©`) rather than hexadecimal escapes (e.g. `©`). Beside of this replacement, the basic behavior remains the same when combined with other options. For example: if both options `useNamedReferences` and `decimal` are enabled, named references (e.g. `©`) are used over decimal escapes. HTML entities without a named reference are encoded using decimal escapes.
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```js
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// Using the global default setting (defaults to `false`):
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he.encode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux');
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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// Passing an `options` object to `encode`, to explicitly disable decimal escapes:
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he.encode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux', {
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  'decimal': false
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});
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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// Passing an `options` object to `encode`, to explicitly enable decimal escapes:
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he.encode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux', {
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  'decimal': true
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});
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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// Passing an `options` object to `encode`, to explicitly allow named references and decimal escapes:
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he.encode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux', {
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  'useNamedReferences': true,
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  'decimal': true
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});
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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```
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#### `encodeEverything`
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The default value for the `encodeEverything` option is `false`. This means that `encode()` will not use any character references for printable ASCII symbols that don’t need escaping. Set it to `true` to encode every symbol in the input string. When set to `true`, this option takes precedence over `allowUnsafeSymbols` (i.e. setting the latter to `true` in such a case has no effect).
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```js
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// Using the global default setting (defaults to `false`):
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he.encode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux');
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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// Passing an `options` object to `encode`, to explicitly encode all symbols:
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he.encode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux', {
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  'encodeEverything': true
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});
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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// This setting can be combined with the `useNamedReferences` option:
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he.encode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux', {
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  'encodeEverything': true,
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  'useNamedReferences': true
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});
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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```
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#### `strict`
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The default value for the `strict` option is `false`. This means that `encode()` will encode any HTML text content you feed it, even if it contains any symbols that cause [parse errors](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/parsing.html#preprocessing-the-input-stream). To throw an error when such invalid HTML is encountered, set the `strict` option to `true`. This option makes it possible to use _he_ as part of HTML parsers and HTML validators.
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```js
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// Using the global default setting (defaults to `false`, i.e. error-tolerant mode):
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he.encode('\x01');
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// → ''
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// Passing an `options` object to `encode`, to explicitly enable error-tolerant mode:
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he.encode('\x01', {
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  'strict': false
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});
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// → ''
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// Passing an `options` object to `encode`, to explicitly enable strict mode:
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he.encode('\x01', {
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  'strict': true
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});
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// → Parse error
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```
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#### `allowUnsafeSymbols`
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The default value for the `allowUnsafeSymbols` option is `false`. This means that characters that are unsafe for use in HTML content (`&`, `<`, `>`, `"`, `'`, and `` ` ``) will be encoded. When set to `true`, only non-ASCII characters will be encoded. If the `encodeEverything` option is set to `true`, this option will be ignored.
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```js
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he.encode('foo © and & ampersand', {
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  'allowUnsafeSymbols': true
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});
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// → 'foo © and & ampersand'
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```
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#### Overriding default `encode` options globally
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The global default setting can be overridden by modifying the `he.encode.options` object. This saves you from passing in an `options` object for every call to `encode` if you want to use the non-default setting.
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```js
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// Read the global default setting:
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he.encode.options.useNamedReferences;
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// → `false` by default
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// Override the global default setting:
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he.encode.options.useNamedReferences = true;
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// Using the global default setting, which is now `true`:
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he.encode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux');
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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```
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### `he.decode(html, options)`
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This function takes a string of HTML and decodes any named and numerical character references in it using [the algorithm described in section 12.2.4.69 of the HTML spec](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/syntax.html#tokenizing-character-references).
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```js
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he.decode('foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux');
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// → 'foo © bar ≠ baz 𝌆 qux'
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```
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The `options` object is optional. It recognizes the following properties:
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#### `isAttributeValue`
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The default value for the `isAttributeValue` option is `false`. This means that `decode()` will decode the string as if it were used in [a text context in an HTML document](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/syntax.html#data-state). HTML has different rules for [parsing character references in attribute values](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/syntax.html#character-reference-in-attribute-value-state) — set this option to `true` to treat the input string as if it were used as an attribute value.
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```js
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// Using the global default setting (defaults to `false`, i.e. HTML text context):
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he.decode('foo&bar');
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// → 'foo&bar'
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// Passing an `options` object to `decode`, to explicitly assume an HTML text context:
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he.decode('foo&bar', {
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  'isAttributeValue': false
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});
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// → 'foo&bar'
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// Passing an `options` object to `decode`, to explicitly assume an HTML attribute value context:
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he.decode('foo&bar', {
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  'isAttributeValue': true
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});
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// → 'foo&bar'
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```
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#### `strict`
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The default value for the `strict` option is `false`. This means that `decode()` will decode any HTML text content you feed it, even if it contains any entities that cause [parse errors](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/syntax.html#tokenizing-character-references). To throw an error when such invalid HTML is encountered, set the `strict` option to `true`. This option makes it possible to use _he_ as part of HTML parsers and HTML validators.
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```js
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// Using the global default setting (defaults to `false`, i.e. error-tolerant mode):
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he.decode('foo&bar');
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// → 'foo&bar'
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// Passing an `options` object to `decode`, to explicitly enable error-tolerant mode:
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he.decode('foo&bar', {
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  'strict': false
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});
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// → 'foo&bar'
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// Passing an `options` object to `decode`, to explicitly enable strict mode:
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he.decode('foo&bar', {
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  'strict': true
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});
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// → Parse error
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```
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#### Overriding default `decode` options globally
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The global default settings for the `decode` function can be overridden by modifying the `he.decode.options` object. This saves you from passing in an `options` object for every call to `decode` if you want to use a non-default setting.
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```js
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// Read the global default setting:
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he.decode.options.isAttributeValue;
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// → `false` by default
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// Override the global default setting:
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he.decode.options.isAttributeValue = true;
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// Using the global default setting, which is now `true`:
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he.decode('foo&bar');
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// → 'foo&bar'
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```
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### `he.escape(text)`
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This function takes a string of text and escapes it for use in text contexts in XML or HTML documents. Only the following characters are escaped: `&`, `<`, `>`, `"`, `'`, and `` ` ``.
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```js
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he.escape('<img src=\'x\' onerror="prompt(1)">');
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// → '<img src='x' onerror="prompt(1)">'
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```
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### `he.unescape(html, options)`
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`he.unescape` is an alias for `he.decode`. It takes a string of HTML and decodes any named and numerical character references in it.
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### Using the `he` binary
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To use the `he` binary in your shell, simply install _he_ globally using npm:
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```bash
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npm install -g he
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```
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After that you will be able to encode/decode HTML entities from the command line:
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```bash
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$ he --encode 'föo ♥ bår 𝌆 baz'
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föo ♥ bår 𝌆 baz
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$ he --encode --use-named-refs 'föo ♥ bår 𝌆 baz'
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föo ♥ bår 𝌆 baz
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$ he --decode 'föo ♥ bår 𝌆 baz'
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föo ♥ bår 𝌆 baz
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```
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Read a local text file, encode it for use in an HTML text context, and save the result to a new file:
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```bash
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$ he --encode < foo.txt > foo-escaped.html
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```
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Or do the same with an online text file:
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```bash
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$ curl -sL "http://git.io/HnfEaw" | he --encode > escaped.html
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```
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Or, the opposite — read a local file containing a snippet of HTML in a text context, decode it back to plain text, and save the result to a new file:
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```bash
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$ he --decode < foo-escaped.html > foo.txt
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```
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Or do the same with an online HTML snippet:
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```bash
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$ curl -sL "http://git.io/HnfEaw" | he --decode > decoded.txt
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```
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See `he --help` for the full list of options.
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## Support
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_he_ has been tested in at least:
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* Chrome 27-50
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* Firefox 3-45
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* Safari 4-9
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* Opera 10-12, 15–37
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* IE 6–11
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* Edge
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* Narwhal 0.3.2
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* Node.js v0.10, v0.12, v4, v5
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* PhantomJS 1.9.0
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* Rhino 1.7RC4
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* RingoJS 0.8-0.11
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## Unit tests & code coverage
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After cloning this repository, run `npm install` to install the dependencies needed for he development and testing. You may want to install Istanbul _globally_ using `npm install istanbul -g`.
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Once that’s done, you can run the unit tests in Node using `npm test` or `node tests/tests.js`. To run the tests in Rhino, Ringo, Narwhal, and web browsers as well, use `grunt test`.
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To generate the code coverage report, use `grunt cover`.
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## Acknowledgements
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Thanks to [Simon Pieters](https://simon.html5.org/) ([@zcorpan](https://twitter.com/zcorpan)) for the many suggestions.
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## Author
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| [](https://twitter.com/mathias "Follow @mathias on Twitter") |
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|---|
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| [Mathias Bynens](https://mathiasbynens.be/) |
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## License
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_he_ is available under the [MIT](https://mths.be/mit) license.
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