Web/API/History

The History interface allows manipulation of the browser session history, that is the pages visited in the tab or frame that the current page is loaded in.

Properties

The History interface doesn't inherit any property.

length Read only: Returns an Integer representing the number of elements in the session history, including the currently loaded page. For example, for a page loaded in a new tab this property returns 1.
scrollRestoration: Allows web applications to explicitly set default scroll restoration behavior on history navigation. This property can be either auto or manual.
state Read only: Returns an any value representing the state at the top of the history stack. This is a way to look at the state without having to wait for a popstate event.

Methods

The History interface doesn't inherit any methods.

back(): This asynchronous method goes to the previous page in session history, the same action as when the user clicks the browser's Back button. Equivalent to history.go(-1).

Calling this method to go back beyond the first page in the session history has no effect and doesn't raise an exception.
forward(): This asynchronous method goes to the next page in session history, the same action as when the user clicks the browser's Forward button; this is equivalent to history.go(1).

Calling this method to go forward beyond the most recent page in the session history has no effect and doesn't raise an exception.
go(): Asynchronously loads a page from the session history, identified by its relative location to the current page, for example -1 for the previous page or 1 for the next page. If you specify an out-of-bounds value (for instance, specifying -1 when there are no previously-visited pages in the session history), this method silently has no effect. Calling go() without parameters or a value of 0 reloads the current page. Internet Explorer lets you specify a string, instead of an integer, to go to a specific URL in the history list.
pushState(): Pushes the given data onto the session history stack with the specified title (and, if provided, URL). The data is treated as opaque by the DOM; you may specify any JavaScript object that can be serialized. Note that all browsers but Safari currently ignore the title parameter. For more information, see Working with the History API.
replaceState(): Updates the most recent entry on the history stack to have the specified data, title, and, if provided, URL. The data is treated as opaque by the DOM; you may specify any JavaScript object that can be serialized. Note that all browsers but Safari currently ignore the title parameter. For more information, see Working with the History API.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living StandardThe definition of 'History' in that specification.	Living Standard	Adds the `scrollRestoration` attribute.
HTML5The definition of 'History' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`History`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 3	Safari Full support 1	WebView Android Full support 1	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 10.1	Safari iOS Full support 1	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`back`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`forward`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`go`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`length`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`pushState`	Chrome Full support 5	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 4 Notes' Full support 4 Notes' Notes' Until Firefox 5, the passed object is serialized using JSON. Starting in Firefox 6, the object is serialized using the structured clone algorithm. This allows a wider variety of objects to be safely passed.	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 11.5	Safari Full support 5	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4 Notes' Full support 4 Notes' Notes' Until Firefox 5, the passed object is serialized using JSON. Starting in Firefox 6, the object is serialized using the structured clone algorithm. This allows a wider variety of objects to be safely passed.	Opera Android Full support 11.5	Safari iOS Full support 4.3	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`replaceState`	Chrome Full support 5	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 4 Notes' Full support 4 Notes' Notes' Until Firefox 5, the passed object is serialized using JSON. Starting in Firefox 6, the object is serialized using the structured clone algorithm. This allows a wider variety of objects to be safely passed.	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 11.5	Safari Full support 5	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4 Notes' Full support 4 Notes' Notes' Until Firefox 5, the passed object is serialized using JSON. Starting in Firefox 6, the object is serialized using the structured clone algorithm. This allows a wider variety of objects to be safely passed.	Opera Android Full support 11.5	Safari iOS Full support 4.3	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`scrollRestoration`	Chrome Full support 46	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 46	IE No support No	Opera Full support 33	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android No support No	Chrome Android Full support 46	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 5.0
`state`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.