MediaSession

Experimental: This is an experimental technology
Check the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.

The MediaSession interface of the Media Session API allows a web page to provide custom behaviors for standard media playback interactions, and to report metadata that can be sent by the user agent to the device or operating system for presentation in standardized user interface elements.

For example, a smartphone might have a standard panel in its lock screen that provides controls for media playback and information display. A browser on the device can use MediaSession to make browser playback controllable from that standard/global user interface.

Properties

metadata

Returns an instance of MediaMetadata, which contains rich media metadata for display in a platform UI.

playbackState

Indicates whether the current media session is playing. Valid values are none, paused, or playing.

Methods

setActionHandler()

Sets an action handler for a media session action, such as play or pause.

setPositionState()

Sets the current playback position and speed of the media currently being presented.

Examples

The following example creates a new media session and assigns action handlers to it:

if ('mediaSession' in navigator) {
  navigator.mediaSession.metadata = new MediaMetadata({
    title: 'Unforgettable',
    artist: 'Nat King Cole',
    album: 'The Ultimate Collection (Remastered)',
    artwork: [
      { src: 'https://dummyimage.com/96x96',   sizes: '96x96',   type: 'image/png' },
      { src: 'https://dummyimage.com/128x128', sizes: '128x128', type: 'image/png' },
      { src: 'https://dummyimage.com/192x192', sizes: '192x192', type: 'image/png' },
      { src: 'https://dummyimage.com/256x256', sizes: '256x256', type: 'image/png' },
      { src: 'https://dummyimage.com/384x384', sizes: '384x384', type: 'image/png' },
      { src: 'https://dummyimage.com/512x512', sizes: '512x512', type: 'image/png' },
    ]
  });

  navigator.mediaSession.setActionHandler('play', function() { /* Code excerpted. */ });
  navigator.mediaSession.setActionHandler('pause', function() { /* Code excerpted. */ });
  navigator.mediaSession.setActionHandler('stop', function() { /* Code excerpted. */ });
  navigator.mediaSession.setActionHandler('seekbackward', function() { /* Code excerpted. */ });
  navigator.mediaSession.setActionHandler('seekforward', function() { /* Code excerpted. */ });
  navigator.mediaSession.setActionHandler('seekto', function() { /* Code excerpted. */ });
  navigator.mediaSession.setActionHandler('previoustrack', function() { /* Code excerpted. */ });
  navigator.mediaSession.setActionHandler('nexttrack', function() { /* Code excerpted. */ });
  navigator.mediaSession.setActionHandler('skipad', function() { /* Code excerpted. */ });
}

The following example sets up two functions for playing and pausing, then uses them as callbacks with the relevant action handlers.

const actionHandlers = [
  // play
  [
    'play',
    async function() {
      // play our audio
      await audioEl.play();
      // set playback state
      navigator.mediaSession.playbackState = "playing";
      // update our status element
      updateStatus(allMeta[index], 'Action: play  |  Track is playing...')
    }
  ],
  [
    'pause',
    () => {
      // pause out audio
      audioEl.pause();
      // set playback state
      navigator.mediaSession.playbackState = "paused";
      // update our status element
      updateStatus(allMeta[index], 'Action: pause  |  Track has been paused...');
    }
  ],
]

for (const [action, handler] of actionHandlers) {
  try {
    navigator.mediaSession.setActionHandler(action, handler);
  } catch (error) {
    console.log(`The media session action "${action}" is not supported yet.`);
  }
}

Specifications

Specification
Media Session Standard (Media Session)
# the-mediasession-interface

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
MediaSession
73
79
82
71
No
Yes
15
No
57
82
Firefox exposes the API, but does not provide a corresponding user-facing media control interface.
No
15
7.0
metadata
73
79
82
71
No
Yes
15
No
57
82
Firefox exposes the API, but does not provide a corresponding user-facing media control interface.
No
15
7.0
playbackState
73
79
82
71
No
Yes
15
No
57
82
Firefox exposes the API, but does not provide a corresponding user-facing media control interface.
No
15
7.0
setActionHandler
73
79
82
71
No
Yes
15
No
57
82
Firefox exposes the API, but does not provide a corresponding user-facing media control interface.
No
15
7.0
setPositionState
73
≤79
82
71
No
Yes
15
No
57
82
Firefox exposes the API, but does not provide a corresponding user-facing media control interface.
No
15
7.0

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Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/MediaSession