Web/API/RTCDataChannel/onmessage

This is an experimental technologyCheck the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.

The RTCDataChannel.onmessage property stores an EventHandler which specifies a function to be called when the message event is fired on the channel. This event is represented by the MessageEvent interface. This event is sent to the channel when a message is received from the other peer.

Syntax

RTCDataChannel.onmessage = function;

Value

A function which the browser will call to handle the message event. The function receives as its sole input parameter a MessageEvent object describing the event.

Example

This code snippet creates a peer connection, adds a data channel to it, and starts creating new <p> (paragraph) elements each time a message arrives, with the message's contents displayed inside it. The new elements are then attached to the end of the document.

let pc = new RTCPeerConnection();
let dc = pc.createDataChannel();

dc.onmessage = function(event) {
  var el = document.createElement("p");
  var txtNode = document.createTextNode(event.data);
 
  el.appendChild(txtNode);
  receiveBox.appendChild(el);
}

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
WebRTC 1.0: Real-time Communication Between BrowsersThe definition of 'RTCDataChannel.onmessage' in that specification.	Candidate Recommendation	Initial specification.

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
`onmessage` Experimental'	Chrome Full support 56	Edge Full support ≤79	Firefox Full support Yes	IE No support No	Opera Full support 43	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support 56	Chrome Android Full support 56	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support 43	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 6.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.': Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.