Web/API/MediaQueryList

A MediaQueryList object stores information on a media query applied to a document, with support for both immediate and event-driven matching against the state of the document. You can create a MediaQueryList by calling matchMedia() on the window object. The resulting object handles sending notifications to listeners when the media query state changes (i.e. when the media query test starts or stops evaluating to true).

This is very useful for adaptive design, since this makes it possible to observe a document to detect when its media queries change, instead of polling the values periodically, and allows you to programmatically make changes to a document based on media query status.

Properties

The MediaQueryList interface inherits properties from its parent interface, EventTarget.

matchesRead only: A Boolean that returns true if the document currently matches the media query list, or false if not.
mediaRead only: A DOMString representing a serialized media query.

Methods

The MediaQueryList interface inherits methods from its parent interface, EventTarget.

addListener(): Adds to the MediaQueryList a callback which is invoked whenever the media query status—whether or not the document matches the media queries in the list—changes. This method exists primarily for backward compatibility; if possible, you should instead use addEventListener() to watch for the change event.
removeListener(): Removes the specified listener callback from the callbacks to be invoked when the MediaQueryList changes media query status, which happens any time the document switches between matching and not matching the media queries listed in the MediaQueryList. This method has been kept for backward compatibility; if possible, you should generally use removeEventListener() to remove change notification callbacks (which should have previously been added using addEventListener()).

Events

The following events are delivered to MediaQueryList objects:

change: Sent to the MediaQueryList when the result of running the media query against the document changes. For example, if the media query is (min-width: 400px), the change event is fired any time the width of the document's viewport changes such that its width moves across the 400px boundary in either direction. Also available using the onchange event handler property.

Examples

This simple example creates a MediaQueryList and then sets up a listener to detect when the media query status changes, running a custom function when it does to change the appearence of the page.

var para = document.querySelector('p');
var mql = window.matchMedia('(max-width: 600px)');

function screenTest(e) {
  if (e.matches) {
    /* the viewport is 600 pixels wide or less */
    para.textContent = 'This is a narrow screen — less than 600px wide.';
    document.body.style.backgroundColor = 'red';
  } else {
    /* the viewport is more than than 600 pixels wide */
    para.textContent = 'This is a wide screen — more than 600px wide.';
    document.body.style.backgroundColor = 'blue';
  }
}

mql.addEventListener('change', screenTest);

Note: You can find this example on GitHub (see the source code, and also see it [[../../../../../../mdn.github.io/dom-examples/mediaquerylist/index|running live]]).

You can find other examples on the individual property and method pages.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Object Model (CSSOM) View ModuleThe definition of 'MediaQueryList' in that specification.	Working Draft	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
`MediaQueryList`	Chrome Full support 9	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 6	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 12.1	Safari Full support 5.1 Notes' Full support 5.1 Notes' Notes' Prior to Safari 14, `MediaQueryList` is based on `EventTarget`, so you must use `addListener()` and `removeListener()` to observe media query lists.	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support 5 Notes' Full support 5 Notes' Notes' Prior to Safari 14, `MediaQueryList` is based on `EventTarget`, so you must use `addListener()` and `removeListener()` to observe media query lists.	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`EventListener` objects as parameters	Chrome Full support 45	Edge Full support ≤79	Firefox Full support 55	IE No support No	Opera No support No	Safari ?	WebView Android Full support 45	Chrome Android Full support 45	Firefox Android Full support 55	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android Full support 5.0
`MediaQueryList` inherits `EventTarget`	Chrome Full support 45	Edge Full support 16	Firefox Full support 55	IE No support No	Opera Full support Yes	Safari No support No	WebView Android Full support 45	Chrome Android Full support 45	Firefox Android Full support 55	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android Full support 5.0
`addListener()`	Chrome Full support 9	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 6	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 12.1	Safari Full support 5.1 Notes' Full support 5.1 Notes' Notes' Prior to Safari 14, `MediaQueryList` is based on `EventTarget`, so you must use `addListener()` and `removeListener()` to observe media query lists.	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support 5 Notes' Full support 5 Notes' Notes' Prior to Safari 14, `MediaQueryList` is based on `EventTarget`, so you must use `addListener()` and `removeListener()` to observe media query lists.	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`matches`	Chrome Full support 9	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 6	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 12.1	Safari Full support 5.1	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support 5	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`media`	Chrome Full support 9	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 6	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 12.1	Safari Full support 5.1	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support 5	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onchange`	Chrome Full support 45	Edge Full support ≤79	Firefox Full support 55	IE No support No	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support 14	WebView Android Full support 45	Chrome Android Full support 45	Firefox Android Full support 55	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support 14	Samsung Internet Android Full support 5.0
`removeListener()`	Chrome Full support 9	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 6	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 12.1	Safari Full support 5.1 Notes' Full support 5.1 Notes' Notes' Prior to Safari 14, `MediaQueryList` is based on `EventTarget`, so you must use `addListener()` and `removeListener()` to observe media query lists.	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support 5 Notes' Full support 5 Notes' Notes' Prior to Safari 14, `MediaQueryList` is based on `EventTarget`, so you must use `addListener()` and `removeListener()` to observe media query lists.	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

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