Navigator: getUserMedia() method

Deprecated: This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.

The deprecated Navigator.getUserMedia() method prompts the user for permission to use up to one video input device (such as a camera or shared screen) and up to one audio input device (such as a microphone) as the source for a MediaStream.

If permission is granted, a MediaStream whose video and/or audio tracks come from those devices is delivered to the specified success callback. If permission is denied, no compatible input devices exist, or any other error condition occurs, the error callback is executed with a MediaStreamError object describing what went wrong. If the user instead doesn't make a choice at all, neither callback is executed.

Note: This is a legacy method. Please use the newer navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia() instead. While technically not deprecated, this old callback version is marked as such, since the specification strongly encourages using the newer promise returning version.

Syntax

js

getUserMedia(constraints, successCallback, errorCallback)

Parameters

constraints

An object specifying the types of media to request, along with any requirements for each type. For details, see the constraints section under the modern MediaDevices.getUserMedia() method, as well as the article Capabilities, constraints, and settings.

successCallback

A function which is invoked when the request for media access is approved. The function is called with one parameter: the MediaStream object that contains the media stream. Your callback can then assign the stream to the desired object (such as an <audio> or <video> element), as shown in the following example:

js

function successCallback(stream) {
  const video = document.querySelector("video");
  video.srcObject = stream;
  video.onloadedmetadata = (e) => {
    // Do something with the video here.
  };
}
errorCallback

When the call fails, the function specified in the errorCallback is invoked with a MediaStreamError object as its sole argument; this object is modeled on DOMException. See Errors below for a list of the errors which can occur.

Return value

None (undefined).

Examples

Width and height

Here's an example of using getUserMedia(), including code to cope with various browsers' prefixes. Note that this is the deprecated way of doing it: See the Examples section under the MediaDevices.getUserMedia() for modern examples.

js

navigator.getUserMedia =
  navigator.getUserMedia ||
  navigator.webkitGetUserMedia ||
  navigator.mozGetUserMedia;

if (navigator.getUserMedia) {
  navigator.getUserMedia(
    { audio: true, video: { width: 1280, height: 720 } },
    (stream) => {
      const video = document.querySelector("video");
      video.srcObject = stream;
      video.onloadedmetadata = (e) => {
        video.play();
      };
    },
    (err) => {
      console.error(`The following error occurred: ${err.name}`);
    }
  );
} else {
  console.log("getUserMedia not supported");
}

Permissions

To use getUserMedia() in an installable app, you need to specify one or both of the following fields inside your manifest file:

json

{
  "permissions": {
    "audio-capture": {
      "description": "Required to capture audio using getUserMedia()"
    },
    "video-capture": {
      "description": "Required to capture video using getUserMedia()"
    }
  }
}

See permission: audio-capture and permission: video-capture for more information.

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

Warning: New code should use MediaDevices.getUserMedia instead.

See also