Text to Octal Converter
Convert text to octal (base-8) byte values, UTF-8 encoded.
Converters Runs in your browser
How do you convert text to octal?
Octal writes each byte in base 8, three digits at most, and it still shows up in Unix permissions (chmod 755) and C escape sequences (\101 for “A”). This tool UTF-8 encodes your text and prints one zero-padded, space-separated octal value per byte: “Hi” becomes “110 151”. Padding to three digits keeps values aligned so a decoder can split an unbroken run correctly.
How to use the Text to Octal
- 1 Write or paste the source text.
- 2 Read off the three-digit octal values, one per byte, separated by spaces.
- 3 Accented characters produce extra values since they occupy several UTF-8 bytes.
- 4 Copy the octal sequence when it looks right.
What you can use it for
- Learning octal number representation.
- Generating octal escape sequences.
- Classroom demos of base conversion.
- Producing octal test values.
Frequently asked questions
Why three digits per byte?
A byte tops out at 255, which is 377 in octal, so three digits always suffice. Zero-padding means “012 145” can be split even without its spaces.
Where is octal used?
chmod-style Unix permissions, C and shell escape sequences like \101, and a fair amount of legacy computing documentation.
Can I decode it?
Feed the values to the Octal to Text converter; it reads both spaced and unbroken three-digit input.
Related tools
More Converters
More tools like this:
All Converters