MediaDeviceInfo

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since September 2017.

Secure context: This feature is available only in secure contexts (HTTPS), in some or all supporting browsers.

The MediaDeviceInfo interface of the Media Capture and Streams API contains information that describes a single media input or output device.

The list of devices obtained by calling navigator.mediaDevices.enumerateDevices() is an array of MediaDeviceInfo objects, one per media device.

Instance properties

MediaDeviceInfo.deviceId Read only

Returns a string that is an identifier for the represented device that is persisted across sessions. It is un-guessable by other applications and unique to the origin of the calling application. It is reset when the user clears cookies (for Private Browsing, a different identifier is used that is not persisted across sessions).

MediaDeviceInfo.groupId Read only

Returns a string that is a group identifier. Two devices have the same group identifier if they belong to the same physical device — for example a monitor with both a built-in camera and a microphone.

MediaDeviceInfo.kind Read only

Returns an enumerated value that is either "videoinput", "audioinput" or "audiooutput".

MediaDeviceInfo.label Read only

Returns a string describing this device (for example "External USB Webcam").

Note: For security reasons, the label field is always blank unless an active media stream exists or the user has granted persistent permission for media device access. The set of device labels could otherwise be used as part of a fingerprinting mechanism to identify a user.

Instance methods

MediaDeviceInfo.toJSON()

Returns a JSON representation of the MediaDeviceInfo object.

Example

Here's an example that uses enumerateDevices() to get a list of devices.

js
if (!navigator.mediaDevices || !navigator.mediaDevices.enumerateDevices) {
  console.log("enumerateDevices() not supported.");
} else {
  // List cameras and microphones.
  navigator.mediaDevices
    .enumerateDevices()
    .then((devices) => {
      devices.forEach((device) => {
        console.log(`${device.kind}: ${device.label} id = ${device.deviceId}`);
      });
    })
    .catch((err) => {
      console.log(`${err.name}: ${err.message}`);
    });
}

This might produce:

bash
videoinput: id = csO9c0YpAf274OuCPUA53CNE0YHlIr2yXCi+SqfBZZ8=
audioinput: id = RKxXByjnabbADGQNNZqLVLdmXlS0YkETYCIbg+XxnvM=
audioinput: id = r2/xw1xUPIyZunfV1lGrKOma5wTOvCkWfZ368XCndm0=

or if one or more media streams are active, or if persistent permissions have been granted:

bash
videoinput: FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) id=csO9c0YpAf274OuCPUA53CNE0YHlIr2yXCi+SqfBZZ8=
audioinput: default (Built-in Microphone) id=RKxXByjnabbADGQNNZqLVLdmXlS0YkETYCIbg+XxnvM=
audioinput: Built-in Microphone id=r2/xw1xUPIyZunfV1lGrKOma5wTOvCkWfZ368XCndm0=

Specifications

Specification
Media Capture and Streams
# device-info

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also