Web App Manifest: orientation support

The manifest orientation member sets the default screen orientation an installed web app launches and runs in, such as portrait or landscape, unless the page locks a different orientation itself at runtime.

Browser & ecosystem support

• Legend
• Yes
• Partial
• Flag
• No
• Unknown

Browser / Platform	Support	Versions	Confidence	Source	Notes
Chrome (Desktop)	Yes	39	high	source	—
Chrome (Android)	Yes	39	high	source	1
Edge (Desktop)	Yes	79	high	source	2
Firefox (Desktop)	No	—	high	source	3
Firefox (Android)	Yes	79	high	source	—
Safari (macOS)	No	—	high	source	4
Safari (iOS)	No	—	high	source	56
Samsung Internet	Yes	4.0	high	source	7
WebView (Android)	Yes	39	high	source	8

1. Derived by browser-compat-data mirroring from Chrome.
2. Derived by browser-compat-data mirroring from Chrome.
3. No Firefox support is recorded in browser-compat-data.
4. No Safari support is recorded in browser-compat-data.
5. No Safari on iOS support is recorded in browser-compat-data.
6. Derived by browser-compat-data mirroring from Safari.
7. Derived by browser-compat-data mirroring from Chrome Android.
8. Derived by browser-compat-data mirroring from Chrome Android.

Source data: /compatibility/manifest-orientation.json · Global usage: 74 % (StatCounter 2026-05)

Source: spec · MDN · Last verified 2026-10-03 · Confidence: high (computed from sources)

How to use it

Declare the member in the web app manifest with one of the spec’s keyword values:

{
  "name": "Field Notes",
  "start_url": "/",
  "display": "standalone",
  "orientation": "portrait"
}

How to detect it at runtime

MDN separately documents the Screen Orientation API, whose lock() method a page can feature-detect before calling:

function supportsOrientationLock() {
  return 'orientation' in screen && typeof screen.orientation.lock === 'function';
}

async function lockLandscape() {
  if (!supportsOrientationLock()) return;
  try {
    await screen.orientation.lock('landscape');
  } catch {}
}

Practical checklist

• Per the spec, orientation sets the default orientation for all top-level traversables of the web app; a requested value’s support is conditional on the user agent honoring it.
• MDN documents that if the member is omitted or set to an invalid value, the app will typically use the device’s natural orientation plus any user or system-level orientation settings.
• Per the spec, a user agent may support the manifest orientation member without implementing the separate Screen Orientation API — the two are independent capabilities.
• Omitting orientation is valid — per MDN, apps that work well in either orientation can simply leave it out.

Where to go next

• Web App Manifest: display
• Web App Manifest: icons / maskable

← Back to the Compatibility explorer.