Solidus /

The Solidus character (/) is a standard HTML entity defined in the HTML specification. In HTML source code, it can be written using the named entity reference /, the decimal numeric character reference /, or the hexadecimal numeric reference /. The character is assigned Unicode code point U+002F in the Universal Character Set.

The solidus (forward slash) is used as a division operator, file path separator on Unix systems, URL separator, date separator, and fraction slash. It is one of the most multi-purpose characters in computing and everyday writing. In HTML, the forward slash closes self-closing tags.

Technical character entities represent brackets, delimiters, and punctuation marks that frequently require escaping in HTML source code and programming contexts. Characters like curly braces, square brackets, pipes, and backslashes often carry special meaning in templating engines, regular expressions, or markup parsers, making their explicit HTML entity encoding important for preventing unintended interpretation by the browser or build tools.

When deciding how to encode the Solidus character in your HTML documents, the named entity / is generally the most readable choice for developers reviewing or maintaining source code. The decimal form / and hexadecimal form / are equally valid alternatives that work in contexts where named entities may not be supported, or when generating HTML output programmatically from server-side code. All three representations produce identical visual output in every modern web browser.

Use the solidus entity when the forward slash might be misinterpreted in HTML contexts, particularly in closing tag sequences or script content where // might start a comment. In most text content, the forward slash can be typed directly without issues.