Skip to main content

FAQ

Should I use get-browser or feature detection?​

Most of the time, feature detection is the right answer. Reach for get-browser when you actually need the identity of the browser — working around a known bug, choosing a polyfill, rendering a "Download for your browser" badge, or tagging analytics.

Does get-browser return the browser version?​

No. The library returns the family only — 'chrome', 'safari', etc. If you need versions, use ua-parser-js or bowser.

Why does Chromium-Edge return 'edge' and not 'chrome'?​

Chromium-Edge ships a UA that contains both Chrome/ and Edg/. The library walks detection most-specific-first, so Edg/ wins. The same logic applies to Opera (OPR/) and other Chromium-derived browsers.

My iPad reports 'safari' and isMobile() returns false — why?​

Since iPadOS 13 (2019), iPad's default Safari UA is indistinguishable from macOS Safari. Apple ships a Mac UA on purpose, so iPads receive desktop layouts by default. The library cannot tell those two apart from the UA alone.

When the user toggles Request Mobile Website, the UA reverts to including iPad — and isMobile() returns true. See the isSafari() notes for details.

Will I get a hydration mismatch with SSR?​

Only if you render different markup on the server (based on the request UA) than on the client (based on navigator). The library is happy to be called on either side. To avoid mismatches, resolve the browser on the server and pass it down as a prop / context, then re-use that value for the initial client render. See the SSR guide.

Is get-browser ESM-only?​

No — it ships both ESM and CJS via the exports map. Both import and require work, and the types resolve correctly for each.

Is it tree-shakeable?​

Yes. Every detector is a named export, and the package sets "sideEffects": false. Importing only isChrome ships only isChrome (plus the ~50 lines of shared environment resolution).

What browsers can get-browser detect?​

See the Browser support page. TL;DR: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera, IE 6–11, Android WebView, plus their major mobile / desktop variants.

Does it require navigator?​

No. If navigator isn't available (Node, Workers, Deno), every detector cleanly returns false and detect() returns 'unknown'. Or pass { userAgent } explicitly.

Why not just regex the UA myself?​

You can! The library is ~1.4 kB because the regexes aren't trivial — Chrome-on-Edge, Firefox-on-iOS, Safari-vs-CriOS, Opera Mini, and the long tail of mobile detection have edge cases that aren't obvious. We've debugged them so you don't have to.

License?​

MIT.

How do I report a UA the library misclassifies?​

Open an issue with the full UA string and what you expected: github.com/yankouskia/get-browser/issues. The fixture suite is open for additions.