HTML <audio> Tag


Example

Play a sound file:

<audio controls>
  <source src="horse.ogg" type="audio/ogg">
  <source src="horse.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
  Your browser does not support the audio tag.
</audio>
Try it Yourself »

Definition and Usage

The <audio> tag is used to embed sound content in a document, such as music or other audio streams.

The <audio> tag contains one or more <source> tags with different audio sources. The browser will choose the first source it supports.

The text between the <audio> and </audio> tags will only be displayed in browsers that do not support the <audio> element.

There are three supported audio formats in HTML: MP3, WAV, and OGG.

Audio Format and Browser Support

Browser MP3 WAV OGG
Edge / IE YES YES* YES*
Chrome YES YES YES
Firefox YES YES YES
Safari YES YES NO
Opera YES YES YES

*From Edge 79


Tips and Notes

Tip: For video files, look at the <video> tag.



Browser Support

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the element.

Element
<audio> 4.0 9.0 3.5 4.0 11.5

Attributes

Attribute Value Description
autoplay autoplay Specifies that the audio will start playing as soon as it is ready
controls controls Specifies that audio controls should be displayed (such as a play/pause button etc)
loop loop Specifies that the audio will start over again, every time it is finished
muted muted Specifies that the audio output should be muted
preload auto
metadata
none
Specifies if and how the author thinks the audio should be loaded when the page loads
src URL Specifies the URL of the audio file

Global Attributes

The <audio> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML.


Event Attributes

The <audio> tag also supports the Event Attributes in HTML.


Related Pages

HTML DOM reference: HTML Audio/Video DOM Reference


Default CSS Settings

None.


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