Browser detection in javascript?

Question

How do I determine the exact browser and version using javascript?

Thanks

Answer 1

var browser = navigator.appName;
var version = navigator.appVersion;

Note, however, that both will not necessarily reflect the truth. Many browsers can be set to mask as other browsers. So, for example, you can't always be sure if a user is actually surfing with IE6 or with Opera that pretends to be IE6.

Answer 2

It is always best to avoid browser-specific code entirely where possible. The JQuery $.support property is available for detection of support for particular features rather than relying on browser name and version.

In Opera for example, you can fake an internet explorer or firefox instance.

A detailed description of JQuery.support can be found here: http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.support/

When coding websites, i always make sure, that basic functionality like navigation is also accessible to non-js users. This may be object to discussion and can be ignored if the homepage is targeted to a special audience.

Answer 3

This little library may help you. But be aware that browser detection is not always the solution.

Answer 4

This is something I wrote to get client info

var ua = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase();
var check = function(r) {
    return r.test(ua);
};
var DOC = document;
var isStrict = DOC.compatMode == "CSS1Compat";
var isOpera = check(/opera/);
var isChrome = check(/chrome/);
var isWebKit = check(/webkit/);
var isSafari = !isChrome && check(/safari/);
var isSafari2 = isSafari && check(/applewebkit\/4/); // unique to
// Safari 2
var isSafari3 = isSafari && check(/version\/3/);
var isSafari4 = isSafari && check(/version\/4/);
var isIE = !isOpera && check(/msie/);
var isIE7 = isIE && check(/msie 7/);
var isIE8 = isIE && check(/msie 8/);
var isIE6 = isIE && !isIE7 && !isIE8;
var isGecko = !isWebKit && check(/gecko/);
var isGecko2 = isGecko && check(/rv:1\.8/);
var isGecko3 = isGecko && check(/rv:1\.9/);
var isBorderBox = isIE && !isStrict;
var isWindows = check(/windows|win32/);
var isMac = check(/macintosh|mac os x/);
var isAir = check(/adobeair/);
var isLinux = check(/linux/);
var isSecure = /^https/i.test(window.location.protocol);
var isIE7InIE8 = isIE7 && DOC.documentMode == 7;

var jsType = '', browserType = '', browserVersion = '', osName = '';
var ua = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase();
var check = function(r) {
    return r.test(ua);
};

if(isWindows){
    osName = 'Windows';

    if(check(/windows nt/)){
        var start = ua.indexOf('windows nt');
        var end = ua.indexOf(';', start);
        osName = ua.substring(start, end);
    }
} else {
    osName = isMac ? 'Mac' : isLinux ? 'Linux' : 'Other';
} 

if(isIE){
    browserType = 'IE';
    jsType = 'IE';

    var versionStart = ua.indexOf('msie') + 5;
    var versionEnd = ua.indexOf(';', versionStart);
    browserVersion = ua.substring(versionStart, versionEnd);

    jsType = isIE6 ? 'IE6' : isIE7 ? 'IE7' : isIE8 ? 'IE8' : 'IE';
} else if (isGecko){
    var isFF =  check(/firefox/);
    browserType = isFF ? 'Firefox' : 'Others';;
    jsType = isGecko2 ? 'Gecko2' : isGecko3 ? 'Gecko3' : 'Gecko';

    if(isFF){
        var versionStart = ua.indexOf('firefox') + 8;
        var versionEnd = ua.indexOf(' ', versionStart);
        if(versionEnd == -1){
            versionEnd = ua.length;
        }
        browserVersion = ua.substring(versionStart, versionEnd);
    }
} else if(isChrome){
    browserType = 'Chrome';
    jsType = isWebKit ? 'Web Kit' : 'Other';

    var versionStart = ua.indexOf('chrome') + 7;
    var versionEnd = ua.indexOf(' ', versionStart);
    browserVersion = ua.substring(versionStart, versionEnd);
}else{
    browserType = isOpera ? 'Opera' : isSafari ? 'Safari' : '';
}

Answer 5

You could use the jQuery library to detect the browser version.

Example:

jQuery.browser.version

However, this only makes sense if you are also using other functions of jQuery. Adding an entire library just to detect the browser seems like overkill to me.

More information: http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.browser/

(you have to scroll down a bit)

Answer 6

Not exactly what you want, but close to it:

var jscriptVersion = /*@cc_on @if(@_jscript) @_jscript_version @else @*/ false /*@end @*/;
var geckoVersion = navigator.product === 'Gecko' && navigator.productSub;
var operaVersion = 'opera' in window && 'version' in opera && opera.version();

The variables will contain the appropriate version or false if it is not available.

I'd appreciate it if someone using Chrome could find out if you can use window.chrome in a similar way to window.opera.

Answer 7

 navigator.sayswho= (function(){
  var N= navigator.appName, ua= navigator.userAgent, tem;
  var M= ua.match(/(opera|chrome|safari|firefox|msie)\/?\s*(\.?\d+(\.\d+)*)/i);
  if(M && (tem= ua.match(/version\/([\.\d]+)/i))!= null) M[2]= tem[1];
  M= M? [M[1], M[2]]: [N, navigator.appVersion,'-?'];
  return M;
 })();

As the name implies, this will tell you the [name,version] supplied by the browser.

It is handy for sorting test and error results, when you are testing new code on multiple browsers.