Web/API/Window/matchMedia

The Window interface's matchMedia() method returns a new MediaQueryList object that can then be used to determine if the document matches the media query string, as well as to monitor the document to detect when it matches (or stops matching) that media query.

Syntax

mqList = window.matchMedia(mediaQueryString)

Parameters

mediaQueryString: A string specifying the media query to parse into a MediaQueryList.

Return value

A new MediaQueryList object for the media query. Use this object's properties and events to detect matches and to monitor for changes to those matches over time.

Usage notes

You can use the returned media query to perform both instantanteous and event-driven checks to see if the document matches the media query.

To perform a one-time, instantaneous check to see if the document matches the media query, look at the value of the matches property, which will be true if the document meets the media query's requirements.

If you need to be kept aware of whether or not the document matches the media query at all times, you can instead watch for the change event to be delivered to the object. There's a good example of this in the article on Window.devicePixelRatio.

Examples

This example runs the media query (max-width: 600px) and displays the value of the resulting MediaQueryList's matches property in a <span>; as a result, the output will say "true" if the viewport is less than or equal to 600 pixels wide, and will say "false" if the window is wider than that.

JavaScript

let mql = window.matchMedia('(max-width: 600px)');

document.querySelector(".mq-value").innerText = mql.matches;

The JavaScript code simply passes the media query to match into matchMedia() to compile it, then sets the <span>'s innerText to the value of the results' matches property, so that it indicates whether or not the document matches the media query at the moment the page was loaded.

HTML

<span class="mq-value"></span>

A simple <span> to receive the output.

CSS

.mq-value {
  font: 18px arial, sans-serif;
  font-weight: bold;
  color: #88f;
  padding: 0.4em;
  border: 1px solid #dde;
}

Result

See Testing media queries programmatically for additional code examples.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Object Model (CSSOM) View ModuleThe definition of 'Window.matchMedia()' 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
`matchMedia`	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 ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 6	Opera Android Full support 12.1	Safari iOS Full support 5	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support: Full support