HTMLAudioElement

The HTMLAudioElement interface provides access to the properties of <audio> elements, as well as methods to manipulate them. It's based on, and inherits properties and methods from, the HTMLMediaElement interface.

Constructor

Audio()
Creates and returns a new HTMLAudioElement object, optionally starting the process of loading an audio file into it if the file URL is given.

Properties

No specific properties; inherits properties from its parent, HTMLMediaElement, and from HTMLElement.

Methods

Inherits methods from its parent, HTMLMediaElement, and from HTMLElement. It offers no methods of its own.

Obsolete Mozilla-only methods

The following methods are non-standard and should not be used.

mozCurrentSampleOffset()
Returns the number of samples form the beginning of the stream that have been written so far into the audio stream created by calling mozWriteAudio().
mozSetup()
Sets up the audio stream to allow writing, given the number of audio channels (1 or 2) and the sample rate in kHz.
mozWriteAudio()
Writes a batch of audio frames to the stream at the current offset, returning the number of bytes actually written to the stream.

Examples

Basic usage

You can create a HTMLAudioElement entirely with JavaScript using the Audio() constructor:

var audioElement = new Audio('car_horn.wav');

then you can invoke the play() method on the element

audioElement.play();

A common gotcha is trying to play an audio element immediately on page load. Modern browser's default autoplay policy will block that from happening. Refer to firefox and chrome for best practices and work arounds.

Some of the more commonly used properties of the audio element include src, currentTime, duration, paused, muted, and volume. This snippet copies the audio file's duration to a variable:

var audioElement = new Audio('car_horn.wav');
audioElement.addEventListener('loadeddata', () => {
  let duration = audioElement.duration;
  // The duration variable now holds the duration (in seconds) of the audio clip
})

Events

Inherits methods from its parent, HTMLMediaElement, and from its ancestor HTMLElement. Listen to events using addEventListener() or by assigning an event listener to the oneventname property of this interface.

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
HTML Living Standard
The definition of 'HTMLAudioElement' in that specification.		 Living Standard
HTML5
The definition of 'HTMLAudioElement' in that specification.		 Recommendation

Browser compatibility

DesktopMobile
ChromeEdgeFirefoxInternet ExplorerOperaSafariAndroid webviewChrome for AndroidFirefox for AndroidOpera for AndroidSafari on iOSSamsung Internet
HTMLAudioElementChrome Full support 1Edge Full support 12Firefox Full support 3.5IE Full support 9Opera Full support 10.5Safari Full support 3.1WebView Android Full support 1Chrome Android Full support 18Firefox Android Full support 4Opera Android Full support 11Safari iOS Full support 2Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
Audio() constructorChrome Full support YesEdge Full support 12Firefox Full support 3.5IE Full support 10Opera Full support YesSafari Full support YesWebView Android Full support YesChrome Android Full support YesFirefox Android Full support 4Opera Android Full support YesSafari iOS Full support YesSamsung Internet Android Full support Yes
mozCurrentSampleOffset()
DeprecatedNon-standard
Chrome No support NoEdge No support NoFirefox No support 4 — 31IE No support NoOpera No support NoSafari No support NoWebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android No support ? — 31Opera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No
mozSetup()
DeprecatedNon-standard
Chrome No support NoEdge No support NoFirefox No support 4 — 31IE No support NoOpera No support NoSafari No support NoWebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android No support ? — 31Opera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No
mozWriteAudio()
DeprecatedNon-standard
Chrome No support NoEdge No support NoFirefox Full support 4IE No support NoOpera No support NoSafari No support NoWebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android Full support YesOpera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No

Legend

Full support
Full support
No support
No support
Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.
Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.

See also