# The URL Object

> Learn how to use the JavaScript URL object, from creating blob URLs with URL.createObjectURL to parsing a URL with the constructor to read its parts.

Author: [Flavio Copes](https://flaviocopes.com/about/) | Published: 2019-05-14 | Topics: [Web Platform](https://flaviocopes.com/tags/platform/) | Canonical: https://flaviocopes.com/url/

URL is a namespace used to host 2 static methods used to manipulate URLs using Blobs:

- `URL.createObjectURL()`
- `URL.revokeObjectURL()`

Given a blob, you generate a URL to it using the `URL.createObjectURL()` function:

```js
const myURL = URL.createObjectURL(aBlob)
```

Once you have the blob URL, you can destroy it from memory using:

```js
URL.revokeObjectURL(myURL)
```

---

In addition to this, URL offers a very different functionality through its constructor, which can be used to create a URL. You can call it like this:

```js
const currentUrl = new URL(window.location.href)
```

Now `currentUrl` has a set of properties you can use to inspect the URL:

- `hash` the hash fragment
- `host` the domain + port
- `hostname` the domain
- `href` contains the entire URL
- `origin` scheme + domain + port
- `password`
- `pathname`
- `port`
- `protocol`
- `search`
- `searchParams`
- `username`

which are the usual parts of a URL.

I built a free [URL parser tool](https://flaviocopes.com/tools/url-parser/) where you can paste any URL and see every one of these parts labeled.

You can alter any of those, except `origin` and `searchParams` which are read only, and generate a new URL string by calling the `toString()` method, or by referencing the `href` property.