Unicode Security Inspector — Free Online Tool Detect invisible Unicode characters, bidi controls, mixed scripts, and common confusable characters locally before sharing text or code.
Use this free online Unicode Security Inspector directly in your browser. No signup required, no data leaves your device. Part of Utilier — a collection of 133+ developer utilities.
What is Unicode Security Inspector? Unicode lets text represent the world's writing systems, but visually similar characters and invisible format controls can conceal meaningful differences. This inspector identifies common zero-width characters, bidirectional control marks, mixed-script text, and a small set of Greek or Cyrillic characters that resemble ASCII letters.
Why use Unicode security inspector? A suspicious identifier, hostname, command, or code review change can appear harmless while containing characters that change how people or tools interpret it. A visible report gives reviewers a practical starting point for investigation.
When to use Unicode security inspector Use it before sharing source snippets, reviewing an unfamiliar identifier, investigating a copy-paste problem, or checking text that looks visually inconsistent. Mixed scripts are often legitimate in natural-language content, so treat findings as review prompts rather than proof of malicious intent.
How to use Unicode security inspector Paste the exact text, including whitespace, into the inspector.
Inspect the text: Paste text without normalizing or retyping it so character positions remain accurate.Review positions: Compare each code point and its position with the original text.Decide intent: Check whether mixed scripts or invisible controls are required by the language or format.Normalize or replace: Remove accidental formatting marks and use clear ASCII identifiers where project conventions require them.Key features Invisible character detection: Flags common zero-width spaces, joiners, direction marks, and byte-order marks.Bidi control reporting: Reports bidirectional controls that can change visual ordering.Script and confusable checks: Highlights mixed Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic text plus common ASCII lookalikes.Common use cases Code review: Inspect a suspicious filename, comment, string literal, or identifier.Paste debugging: Find a zero-width character that breaks matching, validation, or shell commands.Security triage: Review a pasted URL or account name that resembles a trusted value.Examples Zero-width space apiKeyReports U+200B Zero-width space between api and Key.Cyrillic lookalike pаypalReports Cyrillic U+0430, which resembles ASCII a.Technical reference Findings describe code points, not the sender's intent.
Zero-width space U+200B has no visible width but can change string equality and word boundaries. Bidi controls Directional formatting characters affect visual order and deserve careful review in source code. Mixed scripts Text that combines scripts may be legitimate prose but is risky in short identifiers or hostnames. Confusables Characters can look alike without being identical code points; this tool reports common examples only. Common mistakes to avoid Assuming mixed scripts are always malicious Why it happens: Many languages naturally require a non-Latin script.
How to avoid it: Focus scrutiny on identifiers, domains, commands, and context where an ASCII lookalike matters.
Retyping suspicious text before inspection Why it happens: Retyping can silently remove the character that caused the problem.
How to avoid it: Copy the original bytes or text exactly, then inspect positions.
Using visual comparison alone Why it happens: Different code points can render the same in a chosen font.
How to avoid it: Compare reported U+ code points and normalize identifiers deliberately.
Frequently asked questions Does a finding mean the text is unsafe? No. It indicates a character worth reviewing in context.
Can this find every Unicode confusable? No. It flags common cases and is not a complete Unicode security policy.
Why inspect source code comments? Bidirectional controls can affect how nearby source appears to a reviewer.
Is the input sent anywhere? No. Inspection occurs locally in the browser.
Privacy and availability Runs entirely in your browser — zero server processing No signup or account required Works offline once loaded Fast, lightweight, no external dependencies Available as a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox Tags HTTP Networking Security Related tools All developer tools JSON Beautifier & Validator — Format, minify and validate JSON. Reports the exact error location.HTML Beautifier & Minifier — Indent or minify HTML. Content of pre/script/style is preserved.CSS Beautifier & Minifier — Pretty-print or minify CSS. Handles comments, strings, and nested at-rules.JavaScript Beautifier & Minifier — Format, minify, or obfuscate JavaScript. String, template, regex and comment aware.SQL Formatter — Format SQL queries: clauses on new lines, keywords uppercased.SQL Converter — Convert SQL INSERT statements or SELECT results to CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, or HTML.Markdown Preview — Live GitHub-flavoured-ish Markdown rendering (safe, HTML-escaped).Diff Checker — Compare two texts line by line with additions and deletions highlighted.Base64 / Base32 / Base58 / Base85 Encoder — Encode and decode text using Base64, Base32, Base58, Base85, or ASCII85.URL Encode / Decode — Percent-encode or decode text and query components, in any character set.HTML Entity Encode / Decode — Escape/unescape HTML special characters and numeric entities.ROT13 / ROT-N Encoder — Apply the ROT13 letter cipher (or any ROT-N shift) to text. ROT13 is its own inverse.JWT Decoder — Decode a JWT's header and payload. Optionally verify an HMAC signature.JWT Generator — Create a signed JWT (HS256/384/512) from a JSON payload and secret.Hash Generator — Compute MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512, and CRC-16 digests of text.HMAC Generator — Compute a keyed HMAC signature of a message (SHA-1/256/384/512).CRC32 Generator — Compute the CRC-32 (IEEE 802.3) checksum of text, shown as hex and decimal.Hash Verification — Compute a hash of your text (MD5, SHA-1/256/384/512 or CRC-32) and compare it against an expected value to confirm a match.Checksum Calculator — Upload a file to compute its SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512 and CRC-32 checksums for integrity verification.Text Compression — Compress and decompress text using GZip, Deflate, or Deflate-Raw algorithms.BCrypt Generator — Hash a password with bcrypt (Blowfish-based, salted) at a configurable cost, or verify a password against an existing bcrypt hash.AES Encrypt / Decrypt — Encrypt or decrypt text with AES-256-GCM using a password (PBKDF2-SHA256 key derivation). Output is base64 packing salt + IV + ciphertext.RSA Encrypt / Decrypt — Generate an RSA keypair and encrypt/decrypt short messages with RSA-OAEP (SHA-256). Keys are PEM. Best for small payloads (≈190 bytes at 2048-bit).UUID Generator — Generate cryptographically-random version 4 UUIDs in bulk.Password Generator — Generate strong random passwords with configurable character sets.Regex Tester — Test JavaScript regular expressions with live match highlighting and groups.Unix Timestamp Converter — Convert between Unix timestamps and human-readable dates (local & UTC).Timezone Converter — Convert a date and time between any two IANA time zones (DST-aware).Date Difference Calculator — Calculate the elapsed time between two dates as a calendar breakdown and in total units.QR Code Generator — Turn text/URLs into a QR code, optionally with a centered logo. Download as PNG.Color Picker & Converter — Convert between HEX, RGB(A), HSL(A), HSV, and CMYK. Pick a color visually.cURL Converter — Convert a curl command to fetch, Axios, React, Python, Go, PHP, Java or Rust — and fetch back to curl.JSON ↔ YAML — Convert JSON to YAML and YAML back to JSON.TOML Converter — Convert TOML to JSON or YAML and JSON/YAML back to TOML, with validation.JSON ↔ CSV / SQL — Convert JSON array to CSV, TSV, or SQL INSERT statements. Parse CSV/TSV back to JSON.Lorem Ipsum Generator — Generate placeholder text by paragraphs, sentences or words.Case Converter — Convert text between camelCase, snake_case, kebab-case, Title Case and more.Number Base Converter — Convert integers between binary, octal, decimal, hexadecimal, and custom bases (radix 2-36).Text / Binary / Hex / Decimal / Octal Converter — Convert between text, binary, hexadecimal, decimal, and octal. Auto-detects the input format.Slug Generator — Convert titles into clean, URL-friendly slugs. Strips accents and punctuation.CSS Unit Converter — Convert between px, rem, em, %, pt, pc, in, cm, mm, vw and vh.Image Converter — Turn an image into a Base64 data URI, CSS background, <img> tag or an SVG wrapper.Unicode Encoder / Decoder — Convert text to and from \uXXXX escapes, or list its Unicode code points.UTF-8 Encoder / Decoder — Convert text to its UTF-8 bytes (hex, decimal or binary) and decode bytes back to text.ASCII Converter — Convert text to and from character codes in decimal, hexadecimal or binary.Escape / Unescape — Escape and unescape strings for JSON, XML, JavaScript, CSV, and SQL contexts.Word & Character Counter — Live count of words, characters, lines, sentences, paragraphs and reading time.Text Formatter & Cleaner — Clean up text: remove blank lines, trim spaces, strip line numbers, sort/shuffle/reverse lines or words, remove punctuation, flip upside down.Advanced String Tools — Advanced string manipulation: remove accents, extract delimited text, filter lines, calculate similarity, character diff.Emoji Picker — Browse and click an emoji to copy it to your clipboard.Nano ID Generator — Generate compact, URL-safe unique IDs with a configurable size and alphabet.ULID Generator — Generate ULIDs — 128-bit, lexicographically sortable IDs (48-bit time + 80-bit randomness) in Crockford Base32, with an optional monotonic mode.UUID Validator — Check whether a string is a valid UUID and detect its version and variant.Random Number Generator — Generate cryptographically-random integers, decimals, primes, or fractions within a range.Random String Generator — Generate random strings from selectable character sets, or special formats (hex, binary, MAC address).Random Regex Generator — Generate random strings that match a regular expression pattern. Perfect for test data generation.ASCII Art Generator — Turn text into a figlet-style banner or convert an image into ASCII art. Copy, download as text or image, and share.Snowflake ID Generator — Generate and decode Twitter/Discord-style Snowflake IDs with a configurable epoch and bit layout.CSS Gradient Generator — Design linear or radial gradients with live preview and copy the CSS.Box Shadow Generator — Visually build a CSS box-shadow and copy the rule.CSS Grid & Flexbox Generator — Generate CSS Grid templates or Flexbox layouts with a live preview, then copy or download the CSS.Query Parameter Parser — Break a URL or query string into its individual parameters.Query String Builder — Assemble a URL-encoded query string from key/value pairs.robots.txt Generator — Generate a robots.txt with allow/disallow rules, crawl-delay and sitemap.sitemap.xml Generator — Turn a list of URLs into a valid XML sitemap..gitignore Generator — Combine common .gitignore presets for languages, OSes and editors.Dockerfile Generator — Scaffold a Dockerfile for many stacks with multi-stage builds, env vars, ports, a non-root user and healthcheck..htaccess Generator — Generate common Apache .htaccess rules (HTTPS, www, caching, compression).Server Config Generator — Generate nginx, Apache or Tomcat configs for HTTPS, reverse proxy, load balancing, API gateway, caching and rate limiting.XML Beautifier / Minifier — Pretty-print, minify, validate XML. Convert to JSON or CSV.Cron Expression Parser — Translate a cron expression into a plain-English schedule.Cron Expression Generator — Build a cron expression from simple schedule fields with a live description.Regex Generator — Pick a common validation pattern and test it against sample text.CIDR Calculator — Expand an IPv4 CIDR block into network, broadcast, host range and mask.Subnet Calculator — Enter an IP and a subnet mask (dotted or prefix) to compute the subnet details.IP Address Converter — Convert IPv4 addresses to and from decimal, hexadecimal, octal, and binary formats.Punycode Converter — Convert internationalized domain names (IDN) to and from Punycode (xn--) ASCII form.CSP Generator & Evaluator — Build a Content-Security-Policy from directives and lint any pasted CSP for common weaknesses.Kubernetes Manifest Generator — Generate a Kubernetes Deployment + Service manifest (image, replicas, ports, env vars) as YAML.Docker Compose Generator — Build a docker-compose.yml with a primary service plus optional Postgres, MySQL, Redis or Mongo add-ons.Terraform (AWS) Generator — Generate Terraform HCL for common AWS resources: EC2 instance, S3 bucket or security group.GitHub Actions Generator — Generate a CI workflow (.github/workflows/ci.yml) for Node, Python, Go, Java or Rust with push/PR triggers.AWS IAM Policy Generator — Generate AWS IAM policy JSON documents with common actions for S3, EC2, Lambda, DynamoDB, and more.GitLab CI Generator — Generate .gitlab-ci.yml pipeline configurations for Node.js, Python, Docker, Terraform, and Go projects.Nginx Config Generator — Generate production-ready Nginx server blocks for reverse proxy, SPA, or static sites with SSL, gzip, and security headers.SSL/TLS Certificate Decoder — Decode PEM-encoded X.509 certificates — view subject, issuer, validity, SAN, and expiration status.Helm Chart Generator — Generate Kubernetes Helm chart scaffolding (Chart.yaml, values.yaml, deployment template) with configurable options.Dockerfile Linter — Lint Dockerfiles offline — checks for best practices like pinned tags, apt cleanup, COPY vs ADD, exec-form CMD, and more.Terraform Backend Config — Generate Terraform backend configuration for S3, GCS, Azure, Consul, or local state storage with provider setup.Kubernetes Policy Checker — Analyze Kubernetes YAML offline for risky security settings, mutable images, missing resources, and production-readiness gaps.Terraform Static Analyzer — Scan Terraform HCL offline for risky AWS patterns such as public admin ingress, unencrypted storage, missing provider pins, and static credentials.IAM Policy Risk Analyzer — Review AWS IAM policy JSON offline for wildcard permissions, broad resources, escalation-sensitive actions, and risky trust patterns.Architecture Diagram Generator — Create Mermaid architecture diagrams offline from service and dependency lists for system design, DevOps handoffs, and runbooks.Incident Runbook Builder — Generate practical incident response runbooks offline with triage, diagnosis, rollback, communication, validation, and follow-up sections.SLO Error Budget Calculator — Calculate availability, allowed downtime, error budget consumption, remaining budget, and burn rate for SRE and operations planning.Image Resizer & Compressor — Crop, resize an image to exact pixel dimensions and re-encode it at a chosen quality to shrink the file size.Image Cropper — Crop an image with a draggable, resizable selection box. Move it, drag any of the 8 handles, and lock to a fixed aspect ratio or crop freely.SVG Viewer — Paste SVG markup to preview it live and export it as a data URI or PNG.Barcode Generator — Generate a Code 128 barcode from text and export it as PNG.Favicon Generator — Create favicon PNGs from a letter or emoji with custom colors, in every common size.Fake Data Generator — Generate mock people or products (JSON/XML/CSV) or placeholder images (PNG/JPG/WEBP/GIF) for prototyping.SQLite Viewer — Open a .sqlite/.db file in the browser, browse tables and run SQL — fully client-side.Clipboard History — The last 10 things you copied from any tool. Click to copy again.HTTP Status Codes — Searchable reference of HTTP response status codes with their names and meanings.Keyboard Event Tester — Inspect key events (key, code, keyCode, modifiers) and browse the ASCII chart with code↔character conversion.Developer Calculator — Evaluate math expressions with functions (sqrt, sin, cos, log), constants (pi, e), operators (^, %, /), and bitwise operations (and, or, xor, not, shl, shr).OpenAPI / Swagger Viewer — Browse an OpenAPI/Swagger document's endpoints and schemas in a readable list — paste JSON or YAML, entirely offline.OpenAPI to cURL Inspector — Convert OpenAPI/Swagger JSON operations into ready-to-run cURL request starters — a lightweight inspector, not a full spec browser.JSON & HAR Secret Redactor — Redact likely secrets, authorization headers, and email addresses locally before sharing data.SVG Optimizer & Inspector — Minify SVG markup locally and flag common preview and accessibility gaps.Web Manifest Validator — Validate a PWA web manifest locally and inspect essential install metadata.CSS Specificity Calculator — Compare CSS selectors locally and see the cascade specificity tuple.Cookie Parser & Set-Cookie Builder — Parse Cookie and Set-Cookie values, then build a standards-friendly response header locally.Unicode Security Inspector — Find invisible Unicode, bidi controls, mixed scripts, and common confusable characters locally.Regex Extractor — Extract every regex match and capture group with locations, then export JSON or CSV locally.Cron Expression Explainer — Explain five-field cron schedules and preview the next 10 runs in a selected timezone.CSS clamp() Fluid Scale Generator — Generate a responsive CSS clamp() value from minimum and maximum viewport and size targets.Unit Converter — Convert between units of length, weight, temperature, area, volume, speed, time, data size, and pressure.JSONPath Query — Query JSON data using JSONPath expressions ($, dot notation, arrays, wildcards, recursive descent).HTML ↔ Markdown Converter — Convert HTML to Markdown and Markdown to HTML. Handles headings, lists, tables, links, images, and code blocks.HAR File Analyzer — Inspect a browser HAR capture locally: slow requests, failures, domains, and transfer size..env Parser & Converter — Validate environment variables locally and convert .env entries to JSON or Docker Compose YAML.JSON Schema Validator — Validate JSON locally against a practical JSON Schema subset and see precise field-level errors.HTTP Header Analyzer — Parse HTTP headers locally and identify caching, CORS, cookie, and security-header concerns.Cheat Sheets — Instant-search reference cards for git, docker, kubectl, terraform, vim, bash, and regex. Click any command to copy.Kubernetes YAML Generator — GUI wizard to generate production-ready Kubernetes manifests: Deployment, Service, Ingress, ConfigMap, Secret, PVC, HPA.Markdown Writer — Write markdown with a quick-action toolbar. Preview as rendered HTML, copy or download in multiple formats.API Tester — Lightweight REST, GraphQL & WebSocket client with auth, body types, query params, and request history.JSON to TypeScript — Convert JSON objects to TypeScript interfaces. Handles nested objects, arrays, and optional/null fields.CSS Animation Generator — Create CSS animations with live preview. Adjust timing, pick presets, upload an image to test. Copy the generated CSS.Image ↔ Base64 — Convert images to Base64 data URIs, or paste a data URI to preview and download the image. Max 2MB.HTML Table Generator — Visual table builder — set rows and columns, fill in data, generate clean HTML table code.Credit Card Validator — Validate card numbers using the Luhn algorithm. Identifies card type (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, etc.).