This is a cross-language reference for the escape sequences you write inside string and character literals — the backslash codes such as \n, \t, \xHH and \uXXXX. It is built for developers who switch between C, Python, JavaScript, Java, Go and Rust and need to know which escape a given language actually understands, because the rules differ in subtle and bug-prone ways.
How it works
An escape sequence begins with a backslash and is replaced by the compiler or interpreter with a single character when the literal is parsed. Some are universal — \n, \t, \\, \" work almost everywhere — while others are language-specific. Unicode escapes are the biggest source of confusion: \uXXXX means a four-hex-digit code point in most languages, but plain C has no \u in string literals at all, and only JavaScript and Rust offer the brace form \u{...}. The tool lets you filter the table by language so you only see the escapes that language supports, or search by sequence or meaning.
Raw strings and notes
When you need backslashes taken literally — for regular-expression patterns or Windows paths — reach for a raw string instead of doubling every backslash. The second table lists the raw-string syntax per language: Python’s r"...", Go’s backtick literals, Rust’s r#"..."#, and JavaScript’s String.raw tag. Octal escapes (\NNN) survive in C, Python and Go but are forbidden in JavaScript strict mode, so prefer hex (\xHH) for portability. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.