WebHID API

WebHID API — The WebHID API lets a web app request access to non-standard Human Interface Devices via navigator.hid.requestDevice() and exchange input, output, and feature reports with them.

Browser & ecosystem support

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

Browser / Platform	Support	Versions	Confidence	Source	Notes
Chrome (Desktop)	Yes	89	high	source	—
Chrome (Android)	No	—	high	source	1
Edge (Desktop)	Yes	89	high	source	2
Firefox (Desktop)	No	—	high	source	3
Firefox (Android)	No	—	high	source	45
Safari (macOS)	No	—	high	source	6
Safari (iOS)	No	—	high	source	78
Samsung Internet	No	—	high	source	910
WebView (Android)	No	—	high	source	1112

1. No Chrome Android support is recorded in browser-compat-data.
2. Derived by browser-compat-data mirroring from Chrome.
3. No Firefox support is recorded in browser-compat-data.
4. No Firefox for Android support is recorded in browser-compat-data.
5. Derived by browser-compat-data mirroring from Firefox.
6. No Safari support is recorded in browser-compat-data.
7. No Safari on iOS support is recorded in browser-compat-data.
8. Derived by browser-compat-data mirroring from Safari.
9. No Samsung Internet support is recorded in browser-compat-data.
10. Derived by browser-compat-data mirroring from Chrome Android.
11. No WebView Android support is recorded in browser-compat-data.
12. Derived by browser-compat-data mirroring from Chrome Android.

Source data: /compatibility/web-hid.json · Global usage: 37 % (StatCounter 2026-05)

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

How to use it

Requesting a device must happen inside a user gesture, and filters narrows the picker to devices matching a vendor ID. Once the user selects a device, open it before sending or receiving reports:

async function connectHidDevice() {
  const [device] = await navigator.hid.requestDevice({
    filters: [{ vendorId: 0x2341 }],
  });
  await device.open();
  return device;
}

How to detect it at runtime

Check for navigator.hid before offering the feature, and give the reader a fallback path when it is absent:

if ('hid' in navigator) {
  connectButton.hidden = false;
} else {
  connectButton.hidden = true;
  fallbackNotice.textContent = 'This browser cannot access HID devices from the page.';
}

Practical checklist

• Requires a secure context — plain HTTP origins other than potentially trustworthy ones like localhost cannot use it.
• requestDevice() needs transient user activation (a click or keypress handler); without it, the returned promise rejects with a SecurityError DOMException.
• requestDevice() resolves with an array (not a single device) of the HID interfaces exposed by the device the user picked — an empty array means the user closed the picker without choosing one.
• Devices must be open()ed before reports can be sent; calling sendReport() on a device that is not open rejects with an InvalidStateError DOMException.
• Per MDN browser-compat-data, Chrome for Android and Android WebView do not implement the API, so 'hid' in navigator is false there and any HID-dependent flow needs the fallback path above.

Where to go next

For the full reference (secure-context rules, connect/disconnect events, report handling), see WebHID API.

See also Web Serial API for the equivalent flow over a serial port.

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