Device Access

Like Chromium based browsers, Electron provides access to device hardware through web APIs. For the most part these APIs work like they do in a browser, but there are some differences that need to be taken into account. The primary difference between Electron and browsers is what happens when device access is requested. In a browser, users are presented with a popup where they can grant access to an individual device. In Electron APIs are provided which can be used by a developer to either automatically pick a device or prompt users to pick a device via a developer created interface.

Web Bluetooth API

The Web Bluetooth API can be used to communicate with bluetooth devices. In order to use this API in Electron, developers will need to handle the select-bluetooth-device event on the webContents associated with the device request.

Additionally, ses.setBluetoothPairingHandler(handler) can be used to handle pairing to bluetooth devices on Windows or Linux when additional validation such as a pin is needed.

Example

This example demonstrates an Electron application that automatically selects the first available bluetooth device when the Test Bluetooth button is clicked.

docs/fiddles/features/web-bluetooth (23.0.0)Open in Fiddle

  • main.js
  • preload.js
  • index.html
  • renderer.js
  1. const {app, BrowserWindow, ipcMain} = require('electron')
  2. const path = require('path')
  4. function createWindow () {
  5.   const mainWindow = new BrowserWindow({
  6.     width: 800,
  7.     height: 600,
  8.     webPreferences: {
  9.       preload: path.join(__dirname, 'preload.js')
  10.     }    
  11.   })
  13.   mainWindow.webContents.on('select-bluetooth-device', (event, deviceList, callback) => {
  14.     event.preventDefault()
  15.     if (deviceList && deviceList.length > 0) {
  16.       callback(deviceList[0].deviceId)
  17.     } 
  18.   })
  20.   // Listen for a message from the renderer to get the response for the Bluetooth pairing.
  21.   ipcMain.on('bluetooth-pairing-response', (event, response) => {
  22.     bluetoothPinCallback(response)
  23.   })
  25.   mainWindow.webContents.session.setBluetoothPairingHandler((details, callback) => {
  27.     bluetoothPinCallback = callback
  28.     // Send a message to the renderer to prompt the user to confirm the pairing.
  29.     mainWindow.webContents.send('bluetooth-pairing-request', details)
  30.   })  
  32.   mainWindow.loadFile('index.html')
  33. }
  35. app.whenReady().then(() => {
  36.   createWindow()
  38.   app.on('activate', function () {
  39.     if (BrowserWindow.getAllWindows().length === 0) createWindow()
  40.   })
  41. })
  43. app.on('window-all-closed', function () {
  44.   if (process.platform !== 'darwin') app.quit()
  45. })
  1. const { contextBridge, ipcRenderer } = require('electron')
  3. contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('electronAPI', {
  4.   bluetoothPairingRequest: (callback) => ipcRenderer.on('bluetooth-pairing-request', callback),
  5.   bluetoothPairingResponse: (response) => ipcRenderer.send('bluetooth-pairing-response', response)
  6. })
  1. <!DOCTYPE html>
  2. <html>
  3.   <head>
  4.     <meta charset="UTF-8">
  5.     <meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'">
  6.     <title>Web Bluetooth API</title>
  7.   </head>
  8.   <body>
  9.     <h1>Web Bluetooth API</h1>
  11.     <button id="clickme">Test Bluetooth</button>
  13.     <p>Currently selected bluetooth device: <strong id="device-name""></strong></p>
  15.     <script src="./renderer.js"></script>
  16.   </body>
  17. </html>
  1. async function testIt() {
  2.   const device = await navigator.bluetooth.requestDevice({
  3.     acceptAllDevices: true
  4.   })
  5.   document.getElementById('device-name').innerHTML = device.name || `ID: ${device.id}`
  6. }
  8. document.getElementById('clickme').addEventListener('click',testIt)
  10. window.electronAPI.bluetoothPairingRequest((event, details) => {
  11.   const response = {}
  13.   switch (details.pairingKind) {
  14.     case 'confirm': {
  15.       response.confirmed = confirm(`Do you want to connect to device ${details.deviceId}?`)
  16.       break
  17.     }
  18.     case 'confirmPin': {
  19.       response.confirmed = confirm(`Does the pin ${details.pin} match the pin displayed on device ${details.deviceId}?`)
  20.       break
  21.     }
  22.     case 'providePin': {
  23.       const pin = prompt(`Please provide a pin for ${details.deviceId}.`)
  24.       if (pin) {
  25.         response.pin = pin
  26.         response.confirmed = true
  27.       } else {
  28.         response.confirmed = false
  29.       }
  30.     }
  31.   }
  33.   window.electronAPI.bluetoothPairingResponse(response)
  34. })

WebHID API

The WebHID API can be used to access HID devices such as keyboards and gamepads. Electron provides several APIs for working with the WebHID API:

  • The select-hid-device event on the Session can be used to select a HID device when a call to navigator.hid.requestDevice is made. Additionally the hid-device-added and hid-device-removed events on the Session can be used to handle devices being plugged in or unplugged when handling the select-hid-device event. Note: These events only fire until the callback from select-hid-device is called. They are not intended to be used as a generic hid device listener.
  • ses.setDevicePermissionHandler(handler) can be used to provide default permissioning to devices without first calling for permission to devices via navigator.hid.requestDevice. Additionally, the default behavior of Electron is to store granted device permission through the lifetime of the corresponding WebContents. If longer term storage is needed, a developer can store granted device permissions (eg when handling the select-hid-device event) and then read from that storage with setDevicePermissionHandler.
  • ses.setPermissionCheckHandler(handler) can be used to disable HID access for specific origins.

Blocklist

By default Electron employs the same blocklist used by Chromium. If you wish to override this behavior, you can do so by setting the disable-hid-blocklist flag:

  1. app.commandLine.appendSwitch('disable-hid-blocklist')

Example

This example demonstrates an Electron application that automatically selects HID devices through ses.setDevicePermissionHandler(handler) and through select-hid-device event on the Session when the Test WebHID button is clicked.

docs/fiddles/features/web-hid (23.0.0)Open in Fiddle

  • main.js
  • index.html
  • renderer.js
  1. const {app, BrowserWindow} = require('electron')
  2. const path = require('path')
  4. function createWindow () {
  5.   const mainWindow = new BrowserWindow({
  6.     width: 800,
  7.     height: 600
  8.   })
  10.   mainWindow.webContents.session.on('select-hid-device', (event, details, callback) => {
  11.     //Add events to handle devices being added or removed before the callback on
  12.     //`select-hid-device` is called.
  13.     mainWindow.webContents.session.on('hid-device-added', (event, device) => {    
  14.       console.log('hid-device-added FIRED WITH', device)
  15.       //Optionally update details.deviceList
  16.     })
  18.     mainWindow.webContents.session.on('hid-device-removed', (event, device) => {    
  19.       console.log('hid-device-removed FIRED WITH', device)
  20.       //Optionally update details.deviceList
  21.     })
  23.     event.preventDefault()
  24.     if (details.deviceList && details.deviceList.length > 0) {
  25.       callback(details.deviceList[0].deviceId)
  26.     }
  27.   })
  29.   mainWindow.webContents.session.setPermissionCheckHandler((webContents, permission, requestingOrigin, details) => {
  30.     if (permission === 'hid' && details.securityOrigin === 'file:///') {
  31.       return true
  32.     }
  33.   })
  35.   mainWindow.webContents.session.setDevicePermissionHandler((details) => {
  36.     if (details.deviceType === 'hid' && details.origin === 'file://') {
  37.       return true
  38.     }
  39.   })
  41.   mainWindow.loadFile('index.html')
  42. }
  44. app.whenReady().then(() => {
  45.   createWindow()
  47.   app.on('activate', function () {
  48.     if (BrowserWindow.getAllWindows().length === 0) createWindow()
  49.   })
  50. })
  52. app.on('window-all-closed', function () {
  53.   if (process.platform !== 'darwin') app.quit()
  54. })
  1. <!DOCTYPE html>
  2. <html>
  3.   <head>
  4.     <meta charset="UTF-8">
  5.     <meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'">
  6.     <title>WebHID API</title>
  7.   </head>
  8.   <body>
  9.     <h1>WebHID API</h1>
  11.     <button id="clickme">Test WebHID</button>
  13.     <h3>HID devices automatically granted access via <i>setDevicePermissionHandler</i></h3>
  14.     <div id="granted-devices"></div>
  16.     <h3>HID devices automatically granted access via <i>select-hid-device</i></h3>
  17.     <div id="granted-devices2"></div>
  19.     <script src="./renderer.js"></script>
  20.   </body>
  21. </html>
  1. async function testIt() {
  2.   const grantedDevices = await navigator.hid.getDevices()
  3.   let grantedDeviceList = ''
  4.   grantedDevices.forEach(device => {
  5.     grantedDeviceList += `<hr>${device.productName}</hr>`
  6.   })
  7.   document.getElementById('granted-devices').innerHTML = grantedDeviceList
  8.   const grantedDevices2 = await navigator.hid.requestDevice({
  9.     filters: []
  10.   })
  12.   grantedDeviceList = ''
  13.    grantedDevices2.forEach(device => {
  14.     grantedDeviceList += `<hr>${device.productName}</hr>`
  15.   })
  16.   document.getElementById('granted-devices2').innerHTML = grantedDeviceList
  17. }
  19. document.getElementById('clickme').addEventListener('click',testIt)

Web Serial API

The Web Serial API can be used to access serial devices that are connected via serial port, USB, or Bluetooth. In order to use this API in Electron, developers will need to handle the select-serial-port event on the Session associated with the serial port request.

There are several additional APIs for working with the Web Serial API:

  • The serial-port-added and serial-port-removed events on the Session can be used to handle devices being plugged in or unplugged when handling the select-serial-port event. Note: These events only fire until the callback from select-serial-port is called. They are not intended to be used as a generic serial port listener.
  • ses.setDevicePermissionHandler(handler) can be used to provide default permissioning to devices without first calling for permission to devices via navigator.serial.requestPort. Additionally, the default behavior of Electron is to store granted device permission through the lifetime of the corresponding WebContents. If longer term storage is needed, a developer can store granted device permissions (eg when handling the select-serial-port event) and then read from that storage with setDevicePermissionHandler.
  • ses.setPermissionCheckHandler(handler) can be used to disable serial access for specific origins.

Example

This example demonstrates an Electron application that automatically selects serial devices through ses.setDevicePermissionHandler(handler) as well as demonstrating selecting the first available Arduino Uno serial device (if connected) through select-serial-port event on the Session when the Test Web Serial button is clicked.

docs/fiddles/features/web-serial (23.0.0)Open in Fiddle

  • main.js
  • index.html
  • renderer.js
  1. const {app, BrowserWindow} = require('electron')
  2. const path = require('path')
  4. function createWindow () {
  5.   const mainWindow = new BrowserWindow({
  6.     width: 800,
  7.     height: 600
  8.   })
  10.   mainWindow.webContents.session.on('select-serial-port', (event, portList, webContents, callback) => {
  12.     //Add listeners to handle ports being added or removed before the callback for `select-serial-port`
  13.     //is called.
  14.     mainWindow.webContents.session.on('serial-port-added', (event, port) => {
  15.       console.log('serial-port-added FIRED WITH', port)
  16.       //Optionally update portList to add the new port
  17.     })
  19.     mainWindow.webContents.session.on('serial-port-removed', (event, port) => {
  20.       console.log('serial-port-removed FIRED WITH', port)
  21.       //Optionally update portList to remove the port
  22.     })
  24.     event.preventDefault()
  25.     if (portList && portList.length > 0) {
  26.       callback(portList[0].portId)
  27.     } else {
  28.       callback('') //Could not find any matching devices
  29.     }
  30.   })
  32.   mainWindow.webContents.session.setPermissionCheckHandler((webContents, permission, requestingOrigin, details) => {
  33.     if (permission === 'serial' && details.securityOrigin === 'file:///') {
  34.       return true
  35.     }
  37.     return false
  38.   })
  40.   mainWindow.webContents.session.setDevicePermissionHandler((details) => {
  41.     if (details.deviceType === 'serial' && details.origin === 'file://') {
  42.       return true
  43.     }
  45.     return false
  46.   })
  48.   mainWindow.loadFile('index.html')
  50.   mainWindow.webContents.openDevTools()
  51. }
  53. app.whenReady().then(() => {
  54.   createWindow()
  56.   app.on('activate', function () {
  57.     if (BrowserWindow.getAllWindows().length === 0) createWindow()
  58.   })
  59. })
  61. app.on('window-all-closed', function () {
  62.   if (process.platform !== 'darwin') app.quit()
  63. })
  1. <!DOCTYPE html>
  2. <html>
  3.   <head>
  4.     <meta charset="UTF-8">
  5.     <meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'">
  6.     <title>Web Serial API</title>
  7.   <body>
  8.     <h1>Web Serial API</h1>
  10.     <button id="clickme">Test Web Serial API</button>
  12.     <p>Matching Arduino Uno device: <strong id="device-name""></strong></p>
  14.     <script src="./renderer.js"></script>
  15.   </body>
  16. </html>
  1. async function testIt() {
  2.   const filters = [
  3.     { usbVendorId: 0x2341, usbProductId: 0x0043 },
  4.     { usbVendorId: 0x2341, usbProductId: 0x0001 }
  5.   ];
  6.   try {
  7.     const port = await navigator.serial.requestPort({filters});
  8.     const portInfo = port.getInfo();
  9.     document.getElementById('device-name').innerHTML = `vendorId: ${portInfo.usbVendorId} | productId: ${portInfo.usbProductId} `
  10.   } catch (ex) {
  11.     if (ex.name === 'NotFoundError') {
  12.       document.getElementById('device-name').innerHTML = 'Device NOT found'
  13.     } else {
  14.       document.getElementById('device-name').innerHTML = ex
  15.     }
  16.   }
  17. }
  19. document.getElementById('clickme').addEventListener('click',testIt)

WebUSB API

The WebUSB API can be used to access USB devices. Electron provides several APIs for working with the WebUSB API:

  • The select-usb-device event on the Session can be used to select a USB device when a call to navigator.usb.requestDevice is made. Additionally the usb-device-added and usb-device-removed events on the Session can be used to handle devices being plugged in or unplugged when handling the select-usb-device event. Note: These two events only fire until the callback from select-usb-device is called. They are not intended to be used as a generic usb device listener.
  • The `usb-device-revoked’ event on the Session can be used to respond when device.forget() is called on a USB device.
  • ses.setDevicePermissionHandler(handler) can be used to provide default permissioning to devices without first calling for permission to devices via navigator.usb.requestDevice. Additionally, the default behavior of Electron is to store granted device permission through the lifetime of the corresponding WebContents. If longer term storage is needed, a developer can store granted device permissions (eg when handling the select-usb-device event) and then read from that storage with setDevicePermissionHandler.
  • ses.setPermissionCheckHandler(handler) can be used to disable USB access for specific origins.

Example

This example demonstrates an Electron application that automatically selects USB devices (if they are attached) through ses.setDevicePermissionHandler(handler) and through select-usb-device event on the Session when the Test WebUSB button is clicked.

docs/fiddles/features/web-usb (23.0.0)Open in Fiddle

  • main.js
  • index.html
  • renderer.js
  1. const {app, BrowserWindow} = require('electron')
  2. const e = require('express')
  3. const path = require('path')
  5. function createWindow () {
  6.   const mainWindow = new BrowserWindow({
  7.     width: 800,
  8.     height: 600
  9.   })
  11.   let grantedDeviceThroughPermHandler
  13.   mainWindow.webContents.session.on('select-usb-device', (event, details, callback) => {
  14.     //Add events to handle devices being added or removed before the callback on
  15.     //`select-usb-device` is called.
  16.     mainWindow.webContents.session.on('usb-device-added', (event, device) => {    
  17.       console.log('usb-device-added FIRED WITH', device)
  18.       //Optionally update details.deviceList
  19.     })
  21.     mainWindow.webContents.session.on('usb-device-removed', (event, device) => {
  22.       console.log('usb-device-removed FIRED WITH', device)
  23.       //Optionally update details.deviceList
  24.     })
  26.     event.preventDefault()
  27.     if (details.deviceList && details.deviceList.length > 0) {
  28.       const deviceToReturn  = details.deviceList.find((device) => {
  29.         if (!grantedDeviceThroughPermHandler || (device.deviceId != grantedDeviceThroughPermHandler.deviceId)) {
  30.           return true
  31.         }
  32.       })
  33.       if (deviceToReturn) {
  34.         callback(deviceToReturn.deviceId)        
  35.       } else {
  36.         callback()
  37.       }
  38.     }
  39.   })
  41.   mainWindow.webContents.session.setPermissionCheckHandler((webContents, permission, requestingOrigin, details) => {
  42.     if (permission === 'usb' && details.securityOrigin === 'file:///') {
  43.       return true
  44.     }
  45.   })
  48.   mainWindow.webContents.session.setDevicePermissionHandler((details) => {
  49.     if (details.deviceType === 'usb' && details.origin === 'file://') {
  50.       if (!grantedDeviceThroughPermHandler) {        
  51.         grantedDeviceThroughPermHandler = details.device
  52.         return true
  53.       } else {
  54.         return false
  55.       }
  56.     }
  57.   })
  59.   mainWindow.loadFile('index.html')
  60. }
  62. app.whenReady().then(() => {
  63.   createWindow()
  65.   app.on('activate', function () {
  66.     if (BrowserWindow.getAllWindows().length === 0) createWindow()
  67.   })
  68. })
  70. app.on('window-all-closed', function () {
  71.   if (process.platform !== 'darwin') app.quit()
  72. })
  1. <!DOCTYPE html>
  2. <html>
  3.   <head>
  4.     <meta charset="UTF-8">
  5.     <meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'">
  6.     <title>WebUSB API</title>
  7.   </head>
  8.   <body>
  9.     <h1>WebUSB API</h1>
  11.     <button id="clickme">Test WebUSB</button>
  13.     <h3>USB devices automatically granted access via <i>setDevicePermissionHandler</i></h3>
  14.     <div id="granted-devices"></div>
  16.     <h3>USB devices automatically granted access via <i>select-usb-device</i></h3>
  17.     <div id="granted-devices2"></div>
  19.     <script src="./renderer.js"></script>
  20.   </body>
  21. </html>
  1. function getDeviceDetails(device) {
  2.   return grantedDevice.productName || `Unknown device ${grantedDevice.deviceId}`
  3. }
  5. async function testIt() {
  6.   const noDevicesFoundMsg = 'No devices found'
  7.   const grantedDevices = await navigator.usb.getDevices()
  8.   let grantedDeviceList = ''
  9.   if (grantedDevices.length > 0) {    
  10.     grantedDevices.forEach(device => {
  11.       grantedDeviceList += `<hr>${getDeviceDetails(device)}</hr>`
  12.     })    
  13.   } else {
  14.     grantedDeviceList = noDevicesFoundMsg
  15.   }
  16.   document.getElementById('granted-devices').innerHTML = grantedDeviceList
  18.   grantedDeviceList = ''
  19.   try {
  20.     const grantedDevice = await navigator.usb.requestDevice({
  21.       filters: []
  22.     })
  23.     grantedDeviceList += `<hr>${getDeviceDetails(device)}</hr>`
  25.   } catch (ex) {
  26.     if (ex.name === 'NotFoundError') {
  27.       grantedDeviceList = noDevicesFoundMsg
  28.     }
  29.   }
  30.   document.getElementById('granted-devices2').innerHTML = grantedDeviceList
  31. }
  33. document.getElementById('clickme').addEventListener('click',testIt)