About Extract URLs
Extract URLs pulls every web address out of a block of text and prints them one per line, in the order they appear. Give it the sample, Visit https://example.com and http://test.org now, and it returns the two addresses and nothing else - a quick way to move links out of a paragraph, a log line or a list of notes without scanning through it by hand.
A match begins at the characters http or https followed by the scheme separator and continues until it reaches a whitespace character, a quotation mark or an angle bracket. Everything up to that point is kept, including a query string with its question marks, ampersands and equals signs, so an address with tracking parameters comes back whole. Only the two web protocols are recognised, which keeps the matching predictable, and text that contains no address at all returns an empty result rather than an error.
The stopping rule also explains the one behaviour that catches people out: a full stop is not a stopping character, so an address at the end of a sentence keeps the period that follows it. The address https://example.com. comes back with its dot attached, and trimming it is left to the reader. A comma or a closing bracket after an address is kept for the same reason.
The output is a plain list. There is no de-duplication, so an address that appears twice is printed twice, and no count, no sorting by domain, no grouping by scheme and no clickability - the lines are text, not links. Addresses written without a scheme, such as a bare www.example.com, and other protocols such as ftp or mailto, are skipped entirely, and there is no option to add a protocol or to recognise bare domain names.
How to use Extract URLs
- 1 Paste the text that contains the addresses.
- 2 The list of URLs appears immediately and updates as you type.
- 3 Copy the lines, one address at a time, for the links you wanted.
- 4 Trim any trailing punctuation the sentence left attached to an address.
Frequently asked questions
Which kinds of link does it find?
Only addresses that start with http or https followed by the scheme separator. A bare www.example.com, an ftp or mailto link and anything written without its scheme are all skipped, and there is no setting to add protocols or to recognise bare domains.
Why does my address have a full stop stuck on the end?
Because a period is not one of the stopping characters. The match runs until a space, a quotation mark or an angle bracket, so an address that ends a sentence picks up the full stop that follows it. The same happens with a trailing comma or bracket, and cleaning it up is left to you.
What happens to query strings with special characters?
They are kept in full. Question marks, ampersands and equals signs are all ordinary characters here rather than stopping points, so an address with tracking parameters comes back exactly as it appeared in the text.
Are the results de-duplicated or linked?
Neither. The matches are printed as plain text in the order they were found: one address per line, with duplicates repeated, no count, no sorting and no clickable links. Rearranging or de-duplicating the list is a separate step.
Free, online, and private
Free to use
Extract URLs is completely free. There is no account to create, no login, and no hidden charge or usage limit.
Runs online in your browser
It is a free online tool that runs entirely in your browser. Nothing to download or install — open the page and start using it right away.
Your data stays private
All processing happens locally on your device. Your input is never uploaded, stored, or tracked, so it never leaves your browser.
How Extract URLs behaves in detail
These are the specifics of this implementation — the exact ranges, defaults and fixed settings you are working with.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Input | one text panel, recalculated live on every keystroke; the sample reads Visit https://example.com and http://test.org now. |
| Match | any run of characters that starts with http:// or https:// and continues until whitespace, a quotation mark, an angle bracket or the end of the text |
| Output | one URL per line in order of appearance - the sample yields https://example.com and http://test.org |
| Query strings | everything up to the stopping character is kept, including question marks, ampersands and equals signs |
| Empty case | text with no matching address yields an empty result rather than an error |
| Duplicates | the same address appearing twice is printed twice, in the order both occurrences were found |
Compiled from the implementation of this tool and checked against it by itoolnet.
What Extract URLs does not do
Knowing the edges of a tool saves more time than another list of its features. These are the cases where it will not do what you might expect.
- Only the two web protocols match. A bare www.example.com, an ftp or mailto link and any address written without its scheme are all skipped, and there is no option to add protocols or to recognise bare domain names.
- Trailing punctuation is swallowed. An address at the end of a sentence keeps the full stop that follows it, because a period is not a stopping character - so https://example.com. comes out with its dot attached, and cleaning it up is left to the reader.
- The matches are printed as plain text with no de-duplication, no count, no clickability, no sorting by domain and no grouping by scheme - there is also no way to widen the match to addresses wrapped in parentheses or followed by a comma, which keep their closing marks.
Tested and documented by itoolnet, the team that builds and maintains this site.