MediaQueryList

This is an experimental technology
Because this technology's specification has not stabilized, check the compatibility table for usage in various browsers. Also note that the syntax and behavior of an experimental technology is subject to change in future versions of browsers as the specification changes.

A MediaQueryList object stores information on a media query applied to a document, and handles sending notifications to listeners when the media query state change (i.e. when the media query test starts or stops evaluating to true).

This makes it possible to observe a document to detect when its media queries change, instead of polling the values periodically, and allows you to programmatically make changes to a document based on media query status.

Properties

The new version of the MediaQueryList interface inherits properties from its parent interface, EventTarget.

MediaQueryList.matches Read only
 A Boolean that returns true if the document currently matches the media query list, or false if not.
MediaQueryList.media Read only
 A DOMString representing a serialized media query.

Event handlers

MediaQueryList.onchange
 An event handler property representing a function that is invoked when the change event fires, i.e when the status of media query support changes. The event object is a MediaQueryListEvent instance, which is recognised as a MediaListQuery instance in older browsers, for backwards compatibility purposes.

Methods

The new version of the MediaQueryList interface inherits methods from its parent interface, EventTarget.

MediaQueryList.addListener()
 Adds a listener to the MediaQueryListener that will run a custom callback function in response to the media query status changing. This is basically an alias for EventTarget.addEventListener(), for backwards compatibility purposes.
MediaQueryList.removeListener()
 Removes a listener from the MediaQueryListener. This is basically an alias for EventTarget.removeEventListener(), for backwards compatibility purposes.

Examples

This simple example creates a MediaQueryList and then sets up a listener to detect when the media query status changes, running a custom function when it does to change the appearence of the page.

var para = document.querySelector('p');
var mql = window.matchMedia('(max-width: 600px)');
function screenTest(e) {
  if (e.matches) {
    /* the viewport is 600 pixels wide or less */
    para.textContent = 'This is a narrow screen — less than 600px wide.';
    document.body.style.backgroundColor = 'red';
  } else {
    /* the viewport is more than than 600 pixels wide */
    para.textContent = 'This is a wide screen — more than 600px wide.';
    document.body.style.backgroundColor = 'blue';
  }
}
mql.addListener(screenTest);

Note: You can find this example on GitHub (see the source code, and also see it running live).

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
CSS Object Model (CSSOM) View Module
The definition of 'MediaQueryList' in that specification.
Working Draft Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Edge Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support 9 (Yes) 6.0 (6.0) 10 12.1 5
New version spec update (Yes) ? 55 (55) No support (Yes) ?
Feature Android Edge Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Mobile Opera Mobile Safari Mobile Chrome for Android
Basic support ? (Yes) ? ? ? ? ?
New version spec update No support ? 55.0 (55) No support (Yes) ? (Yes)

See also

Document Tags and Contributors

 Last updated by: chrisdavidmills,