ROT47 cipher — rotate letters, digits and symbols by 47

How to use the ROT47 cipher

1. Type or paste your text into Text.
2. The ROT47 result appears below.
3. Copy it. To decode, paste the ROT47 text into the same box; the same rotation restores it.

What it does and when to use it

ROT47 is a simple substitution cipher from the same family as ROT13. Because it includes digits and symbols, the result looks like random punctuation rather than shifted words. That makes it handy for hiding spoilers, puzzle answers, quiz solutions or the punchline of a joke in a forum post, where readers can choose to decode it.

It also appears in capture-the-flag challenges and beginner cryptography exercises, often as one layer among several encodings.

It does not protect anything. Treat ROT47 as a curtain, not a lock. For a letters-only version, see ROT13; for letters plus digits, ROT18. The Caesar cipher lets you pick any shift, and the Vigenère cipher uses a keyword.

How it works

The printable ASCII characters run from ! (33) to ~ (126), which is 94 characters. ROT47 moves each one 47 places along that run and wraps around at the end:

new code = 33 + ((old code − 33 + 47) mod 94)

For example, H is 72: 33 + ((72 − 33 + 47) mod 94) = 33 + 86 = 119, which is w. And w (119) goes to 33 + ((119 − 33 + 47) mod 94) = 33 + 39 = 72, back to H.

Characters outside 33–126 are left alone. The tool runs in your browser.

Worked examples

Hello, World!                →  w6==@[ (@C=5P
w6==@[ (@C=5P                →  Hello, World!
Meet at 10:30 — bring $20!   →  |66E 2E `_ib_ — 3C:?8 Sa_P

The first two lines show ROT47 reversing itself. In the third, the time 10:30 and the price $20 are hidden as well, which ROT13 would not do, while the spaces and the em dash (—, outside ASCII) pass through unchanged.

Limits and tips

• Because spaces are kept, word lengths still show. Someone can guess short words from their shape.
• Accented letters and other scripts are not rotated. Text in languages other than English may stay partly readable.
• Some chat apps turn characters such as backticks or asterisks into formatting. Paste ROT47 text inside a code block so it is copied back exactly.