Encoding API

This is an experimental technology
Check the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.

The Encoding API provides a mechanism for handling text in various character encodings, including legacy non-UTF-8 encodings.

The API provides two interfaces: TextDecoder and TextEncoder.

Reference

Tutorials & tools

A shim allowing to use this interface in browsers that don't support it.
StringView – a C-like representation of strings based on typed arrays.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
Encoding	Living Standard	Initial definitions.

Browser compatibility

Feature	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari
Basic support	38	?	19 18¹	No	25	10.1
Available in workers	38	?	20	No	25	?
`TextDecoder()` constructor	38	?	19 18¹	No	25	10.1
`decode`	38	?	19 18¹	No	25	No
`encoding`	38	?	19 18¹	No	25	No
`fatal`	?	?	?	?	?	?
`ignoreBOM`	?	?	?	?	?	?

Feature	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Edge mobile	Firefox for Android	Opera Android	iOS Safari	Samsung Internet
Basic support	38	38	?	19 18¹	?	No	?
Available in workers	38	38	?	20	?	No	?
`TextDecoder()` constructor	38	38	?	19 18¹	?	No	?
`decode`	38	38	?	19 18¹	?	No	?
`encoding`	38	38	?	19 18¹	?	No	?
`fatal`	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
`ignoreBOM`	?	?	?	?	?	?	?

1. Implemented a slightly different version of the spec.

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Edge Mobile	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	iOS Safari	Samsung Internet
Basic support	Chrome Full support 38	Edge ?	Firefox Full support 19 Full support 19 Partial support 18 Notes Notes Implemented a slightly different version of the spec.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 25	Safari Full support 10.1	WebView Android Full support 38	Chrome Android Full support 38	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android Full support 19 Full support 19 Partial support 18 Notes Notes Implemented a slightly different version of the spec.	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android ?
Available in workers	Chrome Full support 38	Edge ?	Firefox Full support 20	IE No support No	Opera Full support 25	Safari ?	WebView Android Full support 38	Chrome Android Full support 38	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android Full support 20	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android ?
`TextDecoder()` constructor	Chrome Full support 38	Edge ?	Firefox Full support 19 Full support 19 Partial support 18 Notes Notes Implemented a slightly different version of the spec.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 25	Safari Full support 10.1	WebView Android Full support 38	Chrome Android Full support 38	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android Full support 19 Full support 19 Partial support 18 Notes Notes Implemented a slightly different version of the spec.	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android ?
`decode`	Chrome Full support 38	Edge ?	Firefox Full support 19 Full support 19 Partial support 18 Notes Notes Implemented a slightly different version of the spec.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 25	Safari No support No	WebView Android Full support 38	Chrome Android Full support 38	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android Full support 19 Full support 19 Partial support 18 Notes Notes Implemented a slightly different version of the spec.	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android ?
`encoding`	Chrome Full support 38	Edge ?	Firefox Full support 19 Full support 19 Partial support 18 Notes Notes Implemented a slightly different version of the spec.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 25	Safari No support No	WebView Android Full support 38	Chrome Android Full support 38	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android Full support 19 Full support 19 Partial support 18 Notes Notes Implemented a slightly different version of the spec.	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android ?
`fatal`	Chrome ?	Edge ?	Firefox ?	IE ?	Opera ?	Safari ?	WebView Android ?	Chrome Android ?	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android ?	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android ?
`ignoreBOM`	Chrome ?	Edge ?	Firefox ?	IE ?	Opera ?	Safari ?	WebView Android ?	Chrome Android ?	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android ?	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android ?

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
Compatibility unknown: Compatibility unknown
See implementation notes.: See implementation notes.

`TextEncoder`

Desktop
Mobile

Feature	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari
Basic support	38	?	19 18¹	No	25	No
Available in Web Workers	38	?	20	No	25	No
`TextEncoder()` constructor	53² 38 — 53³	?	48⁴ 38 — 48⁵ 19 — 38⁶ 18¹	No	25	No
`encoding`	38	?	19 18¹	No	25	No
`encode`	38	?	19 18¹	No	25	No

Feature	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Edge mobile	Firefox for Android	Opera Android	iOS Safari	Samsung Internet
Basic support	38	38	?	19 18¹	?	No	?
Available in Web Workers	38	38	?	20	?	No	?
`TextEncoder()` constructor	38	38	?	48⁴ 38 — 48⁵ 19 — 38⁶ 18¹	?	No	?
`encoding`	38	38	?	19 18¹	?	No	?
`encode`	38	38	?	19 18¹	?	No	?

1. Firefox 18 implemented an earlier and slightly different version of the specification.

2. Does not accept parameters. Supports only utf-8 encoding.

3. Throws RangeError exception for unknown encoding types.

4. The constructor accepts an encoding type label argument, but the value is ignored. Only utf-8 encoding is supported.

5. If the encoding type label argument is invalid, then a RangeError exception is thrown.

6. If the encoding type label argument is invalid, then a TypeError exception is thrown.

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Edge Mobile	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	iOS Safari	Samsung Internet
Basic support Experimental	Chrome Full support 38	Edge ?	Firefox Full support 19 Full support 19 Full support 18 Notes Notes Firefox 18 implemented an earlier and slightly different version of the specification.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 25	Safari No support No	WebView Android Full support 38	Chrome Android Full support 38	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android Full support 19 Full support 19 Full support 18 Notes Notes Firefox 18 implemented an earlier and slightly different version of the specification.	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android ?
Available in Web Workers Experimental	Chrome Full support 38	Edge ?	Firefox Full support 20	IE No support No	Opera Full support 25	Safari No support No	WebView Android Full support 38	Chrome Android Full support 38	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android Full support 20	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android ?
`TextEncoder()` constructor Experimental	Chrome Full support 53 Notes Full support 53 Notes Notes Does not accept parameters. Supports only `utf-8` encoding. No support 38 — 53 Notes Notes Throws `RangeError` exception for unknown encoding types.	Edge ?	Firefox Full support 48 Notes Full support 48 Notes Notes The constructor accepts an encoding type label argument, but the value is ignored. Only `utf-8` encoding is supported. No support 38 — 48 Notes Notes If the encoding type label argument is invalid, then a `RangeError` exception is thrown. No support 19 — 38 Notes Notes If the encoding type label argument is invalid, then a `TypeError` exception is thrown. Full support 18 Notes Notes Firefox 18 implemented an earlier and slightly different version of the specification.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 25	Safari No support No	WebView Android Full support 38	Chrome Android Full support 38	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android Full support 48 Notes Full support 48 Notes Notes The constructor accepts an encoding type label argument, but the value is ignored. Only `utf-8` encoding is supported. No support 38 — 48 Notes Notes If the encoding type label argument is invalid, then a `RangeError` exception is thrown. No support 19 — 38 Notes Notes If the encoding type label argument is invalid, then a `TypeError` exception is thrown. Full support 18 Notes Notes Firefox 18 implemented an earlier and slightly different version of the specification.	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android ?
`encoding` Experimental	Chrome Full support 38	Edge ?	Firefox Full support 19 Full support 19 Full support 18 Notes Notes Firefox 18 implemented an earlier and slightly different version of the specification.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 25	Safari No support No	WebView Android Full support 38	Chrome Android Full support 38	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android Full support 19 Full support 19 Full support 18 Notes Notes Firefox 18 implemented an earlier and slightly different version of the specification.	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android ?
`encode` Experimental	Chrome Full support 38	Edge ?	Firefox Full support 19 Full support 19 Full support 18 Notes Notes Firefox 18 implemented an earlier and slightly different version of the specification.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 25	Safari No support No	WebView Android Full support 38	Chrome Android Full support 38	Edge Mobile ?	Firefox Android Full support 19 Full support 19 Full support 18 Notes Notes Firefox 18 implemented an earlier and slightly different version of the specification.	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android ?

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
Compatibility unknown: Compatibility unknown
Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.: Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.
See implementation notes.: See implementation notes.

Encoding API

Reference

Tutorials & tools

Specifications

Browser compatibility

TextDecoder

Legend

TextEncoder

Legend

Document Tags and Contributors

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`TextDecoder`

`TextEncoder`