Revision 982911 of <audio>

<h2 id="Summary">Summary</h2>

<p class="summary"><span class="seoSummary">The <strong>HTML <code>&lt;audio&gt;</code> element</strong> is used to embed sound content in documents. It may contain several audio sources, represented using the <code>src</code> attribute or the {{HTMLElement("source")}} element; the browser will choose the most suitable one.</span></p>

<p>Fallback content for browser not supporting the <code>&lt;audio&gt;</code> element can be added too.</p>

<p>You can use the Web Audio API to directly generate and manipulate audio streams from JavaScript code. See <a href="/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_Audio_API">Web Audio API</a> for details.</p>

<h2 id="Usage_Context">Usage Context</h2>

<ul>
 <li><dfn>Permitted content i</dfn>f the element has a {{htmlattrxref("src", "audio")}} attribute: zero or more {{HTMLElement("track")}} element, followed by transparent content that contains no media elements, that is no {{HTMLElement("audio")}} or {{HTMLElement("video")}}<br />
  Else: zero or more {{HTMLElement("source")}} element, followed by zero or more {{HTMLElement("track")}} element, followed by transparent content that contains no media elements, that is no {{HTMLElement("audio")}} or {{HTMLElement("video")}}.</li>
</ul>

<table class="properties">
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <th scope="row"><a href="/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Content_categories">Content categories</a></th>
   <td><a href="/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Content_categories#Flow_content">Flow content</a>, phrasing content, embedded content. If it has a {{htmlattrxref("controls", "audio")}} attribute: interactive content and palpable content.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <th scope="row">Permitted content</th>
   <td>If the element has a {{htmlattrxref("src", "audio")}} attribute: zero or more {{HTMLElement("track")}} element, followed by transparent content that contains no media elements, that is no {{HTMLElement("audio")}} or {{HTMLElement("video")}}<br />
    Else: zero or more {{HTMLElement("source")}} element, followed by zero or more {{HTMLElement("track")}} element, followed by transparent content that contains no media elements, that is no {{HTMLElement("audio")}} or {{HTMLElement("video")}}.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <th scope="row">Tag omission</th>
   <td>{{no_tag_omission}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <th scope="row">Permitted parent elements</th>
   <td>Any element that accepts embedded content.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <th scope="row">DOM interface</th>
   <td>{{domxref("HTMLAudioElement")}}</td>
  </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

<h2 id="Attributes">Attributes</h2>

<p><span style="line-height:21px">This element includes the&nbsp;</span><a href="/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Global_attributes">global attributes</a>.</p>

<dl>
 <dt>{{htmlattrdef("autoplay")}}</dt>
 <dd>A Boolean attribute; if specified (even if the value is "false"!), the audio will automatically begin playback as soon as it can do so, without waiting for the entire audio file to finish downloading.</dd>
 <dt>{{htmlattrdef("autobuffer")}} {{obsolete_inline("2.0")}}</dt>
 <dd>A Boolean attribute; if specified, the audio will automatically begin being downloaded, even if not set to autoplay. This continues until the media cache is full, or the entire audio file has been downloaded, whichever comes first. This should only be used when it is expected that the user will choose to play the audio; for example, if the user has navigated to a page using a "Play this audio" link. This attribute was removed in Gecko 2.0 {{geckoRelease("2.0")}} in favor of the <code>preload</code> attribute.</dd>
 <dt>{{htmlattrdef("buffered")}}</dt>
 <dd>An attribute you can read to determine which time ranges of the media have been buffered. This attribute contains a {{domxref("TimeRanges")}} object.</dd>
 <dt>{{htmlattrdef("controls")}}</dt>
 <dd>If this attribute is present, the browser will offer controls to allow the user to control audio playback, including volume, seeking, and pause/resume playback.</dd>
 <dt>{{htmlattrdef("loop")}}</dt>
 <dd>A Boolean attribute; if specified, will&nbsp;automatically seek back to the start&nbsp;upon reaching the end of the audio.</dd>
 <dt>{{htmlattrdef("mozCurrentSampleOffset")}} {{gecko_minversion_inline("2.0")}} {{non-standard_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>The offset, specified as the number of samples since the beginning of the audio stream, at which the audio is currently playing.</dd>
 <dt>{{htmlattrdef("muted")}}</dt>
 <dd>A Boolean attribute which indicates whether the audio will be initially silenced. Its default value is false.</dd>
 <dt>{{htmlattrdef("played")}}</dt>
 <dd>A {{domxref("TimeRanges")}} object indicating all the ranges of the audio that have been played.</dd>
 <dt>{{htmlattrdef("preload")}}</dt>
 <dd>This enumerated attribute is intended to provide a hint to the browser about what the author thinks will lead to the best user experience. It may have one of the following values:
 <ul>
  <li><code>none</code>: indicates that the audio should not be preloaded;</li>
  <li><code>metadata</code>: indicates that only audio metadata (e.g. length) is fetched;</li>
  <li><code>auto</code>: indicates that the whole audio file could be downloaded, even if the user is not expected to use it;</li>
  <li>the <em>empty string</em>: synonym of the <code>auto</code> value.</li>
 </ul>

 <p>If not set, its default value is browser-defined (i.e. each browser may have its own default value). The spec advises it to be set to <code>metadata</code>.</p>

 <div class="note"><strong>Usage notes:</strong>

 <ul>
  <li>The <code>autoplay</code> attribute has precedence over&nbsp;<code>preload</code>. If <code>autoplay</code> is specified, the browser would obviously need to start downloading the audio for playback.</li>
  <li>The browser is not forced by the specification to follow the value of this attribute; it is a mere hint.</li>
 </ul>
 </div>
 </dd>
 <dt>{{htmlattrdef("src")}}</dt>
 <dd>The URL of the audio to embed. This is subject to <a href="/en-US/docs/HTTP_access_control">HTTP access controls</a>. This is optional; you may instead use the {{htmlelement("source")}} element within the audio block to specify the audio to embed.</dd>
 <dt>{{htmlattrdef("volume")}}</dt>
 <dd>The playback volume, in the range 0.0 (silent) to 1.0 (loudest).</dd>
</dl>

<p>Time offsets are specified as float values indicating the number of seconds to offset.</p>

<div class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> The time offset value definition has not yet been completed in the HTML5 specification and is subject to change.</div>

<h2 id="Events">Events</h2>

<p>An audio element can fire various <a href="/en-US/docs/Web/Guide/Events/Media_events">events</a>.</p>

<h2 id="Examples">Examples</h2>

<h3 id="Basic_usage">Basic usage</h3>

<pre class="brush: html">
&lt;!-- Simple audio playback --&gt;
&lt;audio src="https://developer.mozilla.org/@api/deki/files/2926/=AudioTest_(1).ogg" autoplay&gt;
  Your browser does not support the &lt;code&gt;audio&lt;/code&gt; element.
&lt;/audio&gt;

&lt;!-- Audio playback with captions --&gt;
&lt;audio src="foo.ogg"&gt;
  &lt;track kind="captions" src="foo.en.vtt" srclang="en" label="English"&gt;
  &lt;track kind="captions" src="foo.sv.vtt" srclang="sv" label="Svenska"&gt;
&lt;/audio&gt; 
</pre>

<h3 id="Audio_element_with_source_element">Audio element with source element</h3>

<pre class="brush: html">
&lt;audio controls="controls"&gt;
  Your browser does not support the &lt;code&gt;audio&lt;/code&gt; element.
  &lt;source src="foo.wav" type="audio/wav"&gt;
&lt;/audio&gt;
</pre>

<h2 id="Specifications" name="Specifications">Specifications</h2>

<table class="standard-table">
 <thead>
  <tr>
   <th scope="col">Specification</th>
   <th scope="col">Status</th>
   <th scope="col">Comment</th>
  </tr>
 </thead>
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('HTML WHATWG', 'the-video-element.html#the-audio-element', '&lt;audio&gt;')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('HTML WHATWG')}}</td>
   <td>&nbsp;</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('HTML5 W3C', 'embedded-content-0.html#the-audio-element', '&lt;audio&gt;')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('HTML5 W3C')}}</td>
   <td>&nbsp;</td>
  </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

<h2 id="Browser_compatibility">Browser compatibility</h2>

<div>{{CompatibilityTable}}</div>

<div id="compat-desktop">
<table class="compat-table">
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <th>Feature</th>
   <th>Chrome</th>
   <th>Firefox (Gecko)</th>
   <th>Internet Explorer</th>
   <th>Opera</th>
   <th>Safari</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>Basic support</td>
   <td>3.0</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("1.9.1")}} [1]</td>
   <td>9.0</td>
   <td>10.5</td>
   <td>3.1</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>autoplay</code> attribute</td>
   <td>3.0</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("1.9.1")}}</td>
   <td>9.0</td>
   <td>10.5</td>
   <td>3.1</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>buffered</code> attribute</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("2.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>controls</code> attribute</td>
   <td>3.0</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("1.9.1")}}</td>
   <td>9.0</td>
   <td>10.5</td>
   <td>3.1</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>loop</code> attribute</td>
   <td>3.0</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("11.0")}}</td>
   <td>9.0</td>
   <td>10.5</td>
   <td>3.1</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>muted</code> attribute</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("11.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>played</code> property</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("15.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>preload</code> attribute</td>
   <td>3.0</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("2.0")}}</td>
   <td>9.0</td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}} [2]</td>
   <td>3.1</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>src</code> attribute</td>
   <td>3.0</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("1.9.1")}}</td>
   <td>9.0</td>
   <td>10.5</td>
   <td>3.1</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>volume attribute</td>
   <td>&nbsp;</td>
   <td>&nbsp;</td>
   <td>&nbsp;</td>
   <td>&nbsp;</td>
   <td>&nbsp;</td>
  </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>
</div>

<div id="compat-mobile">
<table class="compat-table">
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <th>Feature</th>
   <th>Android</th>
   <th>Firefox Mobile (Gecko)</th>
   <th>IE Mobile</th>
   <th>Opera Mobile</th>
   <th>Safari Mobile</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>Basic support</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("1.0")}} [1]</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>autoplay</code> attribute</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("1.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>buffered</code> attribute</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("2.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>controls</code> attribute</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("1.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>loop</code> attribute</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("11.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>muted</code> attribute</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("11.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>played</code> property</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("15.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>preload</code> attribute</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("2.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><code>src</code> attribute</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile("1.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>volume attribute</td>
   <td>&nbsp;</td>
   <td>&nbsp;</td>
   <td>&nbsp;</td>
   <td>&nbsp;</td>
   <td>&nbsp;</td>
  </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>
</div>

<p>[1] For Gecko to play audio, the server must serve the file using the correct MIME type.</p>

<p>[2]&nbsp;Supported under the older name <code>autobuffer</code></p>

<h2 id="See_also">See also</h2>

<ul>
 <li><a href="/en-US/docs/Media_formats_supported_by_the_audio_and_video_elements">Media formats supported by the audio and video elements</a></li>
 <li><a href="/en-US/docs/Web_Audio_API">Web Audio API</a></li>
 <li>{{domxref("HTMLAudioElement")}}</li>
 <li><a href="/en-US/docs/XPCOM_Interface_Reference/NsIDOMHTMLMediaElement"><code>nsIDOMHTMLMediaElement</code></a></li>
 <li>{{htmlelement("source")}}</li>
 <li>{{htmlelement("video")}}</li>
 <li><a href="/en-US/docs/Using_HTML5_audio_and_video">Using audio and video</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/#audio">The <code>audio</code> element</a> (HTML5 specification)</li>
</ul>

<p>{{HTMLRef}}</p>