freeCodeCamp/freeCodeCamp

Escaping HTML entities

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#63788 opened on Nov 12, 2025

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help wanted

Description

Describe the Issue

We have a challenge that asks campers to replace symbols like & with the relevant HTML entity &. It's a neat little challenge, BUUUUUUT...

The in-app console we render sanitises the entities back to HTML. So with correct code, campers still see & instead of &.

https://imgur.com/a/xxjSSW2

Affected Page

https://www.freecodecamp.org/learn/full-stack-developer/lab-html-entitiy-converter/implement-an-html-entity-converter

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Go to https://www.freecodecamp.org/learn/full-stack-developer/lab-html-entitiy-converter/implement-an-html-entity-converter
  2. Enter the following code.
  3. Open browser console.
  4. See different results.
function convertHTML(str) {
  let newStr = "";
  for (let char of str) {
    if (char == "&") {
      newStr += "&";
    } else if (char == "<") {
      newStr += "&lt;";
    } else if (char == ">") {
      newStr += "&gt;";
    } else if (char == '"') {
      newStr += "&quot;";
    } else if (char == "'") {
      newStr += "&apos;";
    } else {
      newStr += char;
    }
  }
  return newStr;
}

console.log(convertHTML("Dolce & Gabbana"));

Expected behavior

The in-app console should render `Dolce & Gabanna

Screenshots

No response

System

Irrelevant

Additional context

https://www.reddit.com/r/FreeCodeCamp/comments/1ovgdgm/current_javascript_version_autoconvert_makes/

Contributor guide

Tech stack
typescriptjavascriptreact
Domain
frontend
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
JavaScriptReactHTML entity escaping
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
70
Research direction
The issue is that the in app console sanitizes HTML entities, causing a double escape. The fix likely involves modifying the console output component to prevent sanitization. Look for the component that renders console results in the freeCodeCamp client, possibly under client/src/components/ or related to the curriculum challenge viewer. Check the comments for specific file references. Ensure the raw output of the convertHTML function is displayed as is.