Gamepad API

The Gamepad API is a way for developers to access and respond to signals from gamepads and other game controllers in a simple, consistent way. It contains three interfaces, two events and one specialist function, to respond to gamepads being connected and disconnected, and to access other information about the gamepads themselves, and what buttons and other controls are currently being pressed.

Interfaces

Gamepad

Represents a gamepad/controller connected to the computer.

GamepadButton

Represents a button on one of the connected controllers.

GamepadEvent

The event object representing events fired that are related to gamepads.

Experimental Gamepad extensions

GamepadHapticActuator

Represents hardware in the controller designed to provide haptic feedback to the user (if available), most commonly vibration hardware.

GamepadPose

Represents the pose of a controller (e.g. position and orientation in 3D space) in the case of a WebVR controller.

See also the extensions to the Gamepad interface, for features that allow you to access the above information.

Extensions to other interfaces

Navigator

Navigator.getGamepads()

An extension to the Navigator object that returns an array of Gamepad objects, one for each connected gamepad.

Window events

Window.ongamepadconnected

Represents an event handler that will run when a gamepad is connected (when the gamepadconnected event fires).

Window.ongamepaddisconnected

Represents an event handler that will run when a gamepad is disconnected (when the gamepaddisconnected event fires).

Tutorials and guides

• Using the Gamepad API
• Implementing controls using the Gamepad API

Specifications

Browser compatibility

[1] Enabled in Firefox Nightly and Beta, versions 55 and above. Enabled/disabled by the dom.gamepad-extensions.enabled pref.

See also

• The Gamepad API by Ted Mielczarek and Robert Nyman
• Simple API demo page (source)