Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global objects/ArrayBuffer

The ArrayBuffer object is used to represent a generic, fixed-length raw binary data buffer.

It is an array of bytes, often referred to in other languages as a "byte array".You cannot directly manipulate the contents of an ArrayBuffer; instead, you create one of the typed array objects or a DataView object which represents the buffer in a specific format, and use that to read and write the contents of the buffer.

The ArrayBuffer() constructor creates a new ArrayBuffer of the given length in bytes. You can also get an array buffer from existing data, for example from a Base64 string or from a local file.

Constructor

ArrayBuffer(): Creates a new ArrayBuffer object.

Static properties

get ArrayBuffer[@@species]: The constructor function that is used to create derived objects.

Static methods

ArrayBuffer.isView(arg): Returns true if arg is one of the ArrayBuffer views, such as typed array objects or a DataView. Returns false otherwise.

Instance properties

ArrayBuffer.prototype.byteLength: The read-only size, in bytes, of the ArrayBuffer. This is established when the array is constructed and cannot be changed.

Instance methods

ArrayBuffer.prototype.slice(): Returns a new ArrayBuffer whose contents are a copy of this ArrayBuffer's bytes from begin (inclusive) up to end (exclusive). If either begin or end is negative, it refers to an index from the end of the array, as opposed to from the beginning.

Examples

Creating an ArrayBuffer

In this example, we create a 8-byte buffer with a Int32Array view referring to the buffer:

const buffer = new ArrayBuffer(8);
const view = new Int32Array(buffer);

Specifications

Specification
ECMAScript (ECMA-262)The definition of 'ArrayBuffer' in that specification.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile						Server
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet	Node.js
`ArrayBuffer`	Chrome Full support 7	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 4	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 11.6	Safari Full support 5.1	WebView Android Full support 4	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 12	Safari iOS Full support 4.2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0	nodejs Full support 0.10
`ArrayBuffer()` constructor	Chrome Full support 7	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 4	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 11.6	Safari Full support 5.1	WebView Android Full support 4	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 12	Safari iOS Full support 4.2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0	nodejs Full support 0.10
`byteLength`	Chrome Full support 7	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 4	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 11.6	Safari Full support 5.1	WebView Android Full support 4	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 12	Safari iOS Full support 4.2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0	nodejs Full support 0.10
`isView`	Chrome Full support 32	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 29	IE Full support 11	Opera Full support 19	Safari Full support 7	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 32	Firefox Android Full support 29	Opera Android Full support 19	Safari iOS Full support 7	Samsung Internet Android Full support 2.0	nodejs Full support 4.0.0
`slice`	Chrome Full support 17	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 12 Notes' Full support 12 Notes' Notes' The non-standard `ArrayBuffer.slice()` method has been removed in Firefox 53 (but the standardized version `ArrayBuffer.prototype.slice()` is kept.	IE Full support 11	Opera Full support 12.1	Safari Full support 6	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 14 Notes' Full support 14 Notes' Notes' The non-standard `ArrayBuffer.slice()` method has been removed in Firefox 53 (but the standardized version `ArrayBuffer.prototype.slice()` is kept.	Opera Android Full support 12.1	Safari iOS Full support 6	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0	nodejs Full support 0.12
`@@species`	Chrome Full support 51	Edge Full support 13	Firefox Full support 48	IE No support No	Opera Full support 38	Safari Full support 10	WebView Android Full support 51	Chrome Android Full support 51	Firefox Android Full support 48	Opera Android Full support 41	Safari iOS Full support 10	Samsung Internet Android Full support 5.0	nodejs Full support 6.5.0 Full support 6.5.0 Full support 6.0.0 Disabled' Disabled' From version 6.0.0: this feature is behind the `--harmony` runtime flag.

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.
User must explicitly enable this feature.': User must explicitly enable this feature.