Web/API/XMLHTTPRequest/responseType

The XMLHttpRequest property responseType is an enumerated string value specifying the type of data contained in the response. It also lets the author change the response type. If an empty string is set as the value of responseType, the default value of text is used.

Syntax

var type = XMLHttpRequest.responseType;

XMLHttpRequest.responseType = type;

Value

A string taken from the XMLHttpRequestResponseType enum which specifies what type of data the response contains.

When setting responseType to a particular value, the author should make sure that the server is actually sending a response compatible with that format. If the server returns data that is not compatible with the responseType that was set, the value of response will be null.

The values supported by responseType are the following:

"": An empty responseType string is treated the same as "text", the default type.
arraybuffer: The response is a JavaScript ArrayBuffer containing binary data.
blob: The response is a Blob object containing the binary data.
document: The response is an HTML Document or XML XMLDocument, as appropriate based on the MIME type of the received data. See HTML in XMLHttpRequest to learn more about using XHR to fetch HTML content.
json: The response is a JavaScript object created by parsing the contents of received data as JSON.
text: The response is a text in a DOMString object.
ms-stream ': The response is part of a streaming download; this response type is only allowed for download requests, and is only supported by Internet Explorer.

Exceptions

InvalidAccessError: An attempt was made to change the value of responseType on anXMLHttpRequest which is in synchronous mode but not in a Worker. For additional details, see Synchronous XHR restrictions below.

Usage notes

Synchronous XHR restrictions

You cannot change the value of responseType in a synchronous XMLHttpRequest except when the request belongs to a Worker. This restriction is designed in part to help ensure that synchronous operations aren't used for large transactions that block the browser's main thread, thereby bogging down the user experience.

XMLHttpRequests are asynchronous by default; they are only placed in synchronous mode by passing false as the value of the optional async parameter when calling open().

Restrictions in Workers

Attempts to set the value of responseType to document are ignored in a Worker.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
XMLHttpRequest	Living Standard	WHATWG living standard

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
`responseType`	Chrome Full support 31	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 6	IE Full support 10	Opera No support 12 — 15 No support 12 — 15 Full support 18	Safari Full support 7	WebView Android Full support 55	Chrome Android Full support 55	Firefox Android Full support 50	Opera Android Full support 42	Safari iOS Full support 7	Samsung Internet Android Full support 6.0
`arraybuffer`	Chrome Full support 31	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 6	IE Full support 10	Opera No support 12 — 15 No support 12 — 15 Full support 18	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 50	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`blob`	Chrome Full support 31	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 6	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 18	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 50	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`document`	Chrome Full support 31	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 11	IE Full support 10	Opera No support No	Safari Full support 7	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 50	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`json`	Chrome Full support 31	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 10	IE No support No	Opera No support 12 — 15 No support 12 — 15 Full support 18	Safari Full support 7	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 50	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`moz-blob` Deprecated'Non-standard'	Chrome No support No	Edge No support No	Firefox No support 12 — 58	IE No support No	Opera No support No	Safari No support No	WebView Android No support No	Chrome Android No support No	Firefox Android No support No	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android No support No
`moz-chunked-arraybuffer` Deprecated'Non-standard'	Chrome No support No	Edge No support No	Firefox No support 14 — 68	IE No support No	Opera No support No	Safari No support No	WebView Android No support No	Chrome Android No support No	Firefox Android No support 50 — 68	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android No support No

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
Compatibility unknown: Compatibility unknown
Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.': Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.': Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.