---
title: Notifications API
slug: Web/API/Notifications_API
tags:
  - Landing
  - NeedsTranslation
  - Notifications
  - TopicStub
  - permission
  - system
translation_of: Web/API/Notifications_API
---
<p>{{DefaultAPISidebar("Web Notifications")}}</p>

<p class="summary">The Notifications API allows web pages to control the display of system notifications to the end user — these are outside the top-level browsing context viewport, so therefore can be displayed even the user has switched tabs or moved to a different app. The API is designed to be compatible with existing notification systems across different platforms.</p>

<h2 id="Concepts_and_usage">Concepts and usage</h2>

<p>On supported platforms, showing a system notification generally involves two things. First, the user needs to grant the current origin permission to display system notifications, which is generally done when the app or site initialises, using the {{domxref("Notification.requestPermission()")}} method. This will spawn a request dialog, along the following lines:</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/10819/notification-bubble.png" style="display: block; height: 205px; margin: 0 auto; width: 453px;"></p>

<p>From here the user can choose to allow notifications from this origin, block notifications from this origin , or to not choose a this point. Once a choice has been made, the setting will generally persist for the current session. </p>

<p>Next, a new notification is created using the {{domxref("Notification.Notification","Notification()")}} constructor. This has to be passed a title argument, and can optionally be passed an options object to specify options such as text direction, body text, icon to display, notification sound to play, and more.</p>

<p>{{AvailableInWorkers}}</p>

<p>In addition, the Notifications API spec specifies a number of additions to the <a href="/en-US/docs/Web/API/ServiceWorker_API">ServiceWorker API</a>, to allow service workers to fire notifications.</p>

<div class="note">
<p><strong>Note</strong>: To find out more about using notifications in your own app, read <a href="/en-US/docs/Web/API/Notifications_API/Using_the_Notifications_API">Using the Notifications API</a>.</p>
</div>

<h2 id="Notifications_interfaces">Notifications interfaces</h2>

<dl>
 <dt>{{domxref("Notification")}}</dt>
 <dd>Defines a notification object.</dd>
</dl>

<h3 id="Service_worker_additions">Service worker additions</h3>

<dl>
 <dt>{{domxref("ServiceWorkerRegistration")}}</dt>
 <dd>Includes the {{domxref("ServiceWorkerRegistration.showNotification()")}} and {{domxref("ServiceWorkerRegistration.getNotifications()")}} method for controlling the display of notifications.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("ServiceWorkerGlobalScope")}}</dt>
 <dd>Includes the {{domxref("ServiceWorkerGlobalScope.onnotificationclick")}} handler for firing custom functions when a notification is clicked.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("NotificationEvent")}}</dt>
 <dd>A specific type of event object, based on {{domxref("ExtendableEvent")}}, which represents a notification that has fired.</dd>
</dl>

<h2 id="Specifications">Specifications</h2>

<table class="standard-table">
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <th scope="col">Specification</th>
   <th scope="col">Status</th>
   <th scope="col">Comment</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('Web Notifications')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('Web Notifications')}}</td>
   <td>Living standard</td>
  </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

<h2 id="Browser_compatibility">Browser compatibility</h2>

<p>{{CompatibilityTable}}</p>

<div id="compat-desktop">
<table class="compat-table">
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <th>Feature</th>
   <th>Chrome</th>
   <th>Firefox (Gecko)</th>
   <th>Internet Explorer</th>
   <th>Opera</th>
   <th>Safari</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>Basic support</td>
   <td>5{{property_prefix("webkit")}}<sup>[1]</sup><br>
    22</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("2.0")}}{{property_prefix("moz")}}<sup>[2]</sup><br>
    {{CompatGeckoDesktop("22.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatNo}}</td>
   <td>25</td>
   <td>6<sup>[3]</sup></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>Available in workers</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("41.0")}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>Service worker additions</td>
   <td>
    <p>{{CompatChrome(42.0)}}</p>
   </td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoDesktop("42.0")}}<sup>[4]</sup></td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>
</div>

<div id="compat-mobile">
<table class="compat-table">
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <th>Feature</th>
   <th>Android</th>
   <th>Android Webview</th>
   <th>Firefox Mobile (Gecko)</th>
   <th>Firefox OS</th>
   <th>IE Mobile</th>
   <th>Opera Mobile</th>
   <th>Safari Mobile</th>
   <th>Chrome for Android</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>Basic support</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>
    <p>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</p>
   </td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile(2.0)}}{{property_prefix("moz")}}<sup>[2]</sup><br>
    {{CompatGeckoMobile(22.0)}}</td>
   <td>1.0.1{{property_prefix("moz")}}<sup>[2]</sup><br>
    1.2</td>
   <td>{{CompatNo}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatNo}}</td>
   <td>
    <p>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</p>
   </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>Available in workers</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile(41.0)}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>Service worker additions</td>
   <td>{{CompatNo}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatNo}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatGeckoMobile(42.0)}}<sup>[4]</sup></td>
   <td>{{CompatVersionUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatUnknown}}</td>
   <td>{{CompatChrome(42.0)}}</td>
  </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>
</div>

<p>[1] Before Chrome 22, the support for notification followed an <a href="http://www.chromium.org/developers/design-documents/desktop-notifications/api-specification">old prefixed version of the specification</a> and used the {{domxref("window.navigator.webkitNotifications","navigator.webkitNotifications")}} object to instantiate a new notification. Before Chrome 32, {{domxref("Notification.permission")}} was not supported.</p>

<p>[2] Prior to Firefox 22 (Firefox OS &lt;1.2), the instantiation of a new notification was done with the {{domxref("window.navigator.mozNotification", "navigator.mozNotification")}} object through its <code>createNotification()</code> method. In addition, the Notification was displayed when calling the <code>show()</code> method and supported only the <code>click</code> and <code>close</code> events (Nick Desaulniers wrote a <a href="https://github.com/nickdesaulniers/fxos-irc/blob/master/js/notification.js">Notification shim</a> to cover both newer and older implementations.)</p>

<p>[3] Safari started to support notification with Safari 6, but only on Mac OSX 10.8+ (Mountain Lion).</p>

<p>[4] Firefox 42 has shipped with web notifications from Service Workers disabled.</p>

<h2 id="Firefox_OS_permissions">Firefox OS permissions</h2>

<p>When using notifications  in a Firefox OS app, be sure to add the <code>desktop-notification</code> permission in your manifest file. Notifications can be used at any permission level, hosted or above:</p>

<pre class="brush: json">"permissions": {
  "desktop-notification": {}
}</pre>

<h2 id="See_also">See also</h2>

<ul>
 <li><a href="/en-US/docs/Web/API/Notifications_API/Using_the_Notifications_API">Using the Notifications API</a></li>
</ul>