chrome.hid

This API is part of the Chrome Apps platform, which was deprecated in 2020. It remains supported for Enterprise and Education customers on ChromeOS until at least Jan 2025. Learn more about migrating your app.

Description
Use the chrome.hid API to interact with connected HID devices. This API provides access to HID operations from within the context of an app. Using this API, apps can function as drivers for hardware devices. Errors generated by this API are reported by setting runtime.lastError and executing the function's regular callback. The callback's regular parameters will be undefined in this case.
Permissions
hid

Summary

Types
DeviceFilter
GetDevicesOptions
HidCollectionInfo
HidConnectInfo
HidDeviceInfo
Methods
connect
disconnect
getDevices
receive
receiveFeatureReport
send
sendFeatureReport
Events
onDeviceAdded
onDeviceRemoved

Types

DeviceFilter

Properties

productId
number optional
Device product ID, only checked only if the vendor ID matches.
usage
number optional
HID usage identifier, checked only if the HID usage page matches.
usagePage
number optional
HID usage page identifier.
vendorId
number optional
Device vendor ID.

GetDevicesOptions

Properties

filters
DeviceFilter[] optional
A device matching any given filter will be returned. An empty filter list will return all devices the app has permission for.
productId
number optional
Deprecated
Equivalent to setting DeviceFilter.productId.
vendorId
number optional
Deprecated
Equivalent to setting DeviceFilter.vendorId.

HidCollectionInfo

Properties

reportIds
number[]
Report IDs which belong to the collection and to its children.
usage
number
Page-defined usage identifier.
usagePage
number
HID usage page identifier.

HidConnectInfo

Properties

connectionId
number
The opaque ID used to identify this connection in all other functions.

HidDeviceInfo

Properties

collections
HidCollectionInfo[]
Top-level collections from this device's report descriptors.
deviceId
number
Opaque device ID.
maxFeatureReportSize
number
Top-level collection's maximum feature report size.
maxInputReportSize
number
Top-level collection's maximum input report size.
maxOutputReportSize
number
Top-level collection's maximum output report size.
productId
number
Product ID.
productName
string
Chrome 46+
The product name read from the device, if available.
reportDescriptor
ArrayBuffer
Raw device report descriptor (not available on Windows).
serialNumber
string
Chrome 46+
The serial number read from the device, if available.
vendorId
number
Vendor ID.

Methods

connect


          
          
            chrome.hid.connect(

        deviceId:
  number,

        callback?:
  function,

      
    )

Promise

Open a connection to an HID device for communication.

Parameters

deviceId
number
The HidDeviceInfo.deviceId of the device to open.
callback
function optional
The callback parameter looks like: (connection: HidConnectInfo) => void
- connection
  HidConnectInfo

Returns

Promise<HidConnectInfo>
Chrome 117+
Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.

disconnect


          
          
            chrome.hid.disconnect(

        connectionId:
  number,

        callback?:
  function,

      
    )

Promise

Disconnect from a device. Invoking operations on a device after calling this is safe but has no effect.

Parameters

connectionId
number
The connectionId returned by connect.
callback
function optional
The callback parameter looks like: () => void

Returns

Promise<void>
Chrome 117+
Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.

getDevices


          
          
            chrome.hid.getDevices(

        options:
  GetDevicesOptions,

        callback?:
  function,

      
    )

Promise

Enumerate connected HID devices.

Parameters

options
GetDevicesOptions
The properties to search for on target devices.
callback
function optional
The callback parameter looks like: (devices: HidDeviceInfo[]) => void
- devices
  HidDeviceInfo[]

Returns

Promise<HidDeviceInfo[]>
Chrome 117+
Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.

receive


          
          
            chrome.hid.receive(

        connectionId:
  number,

        callback:
  function,

      
    )

Receive the next input report from the device.

Parameters

connectionId
number
The connectionId returned by connect.
callback
function
The callback parameter looks like: (reportId: number, data: ArrayBuffer) => void
- reportId
  number
  The report ID or 0 if none.
- data
  ArrayBuffer
  The report data, the report ID prefix (if present) is removed.

receiveFeatureReport


          
          
            chrome.hid.receiveFeatureReport(

        connectionId:
  number,

        reportId:
  number,

        callback?:
  function,

      
    )

Promise

Request a feature report from the device.

Parameters

connectionId
number
The connectionId returned by connect.
reportId
number
The report ID, or 0 if none.
callback
function optional
The callback parameter looks like: (data: ArrayBuffer) => void
- data
  ArrayBuffer
  The report data, including a report ID prefix if one is sent by the device.

Returns

Promise<ArrayBuffer>
Chrome 117+
Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.

send


          
          
            chrome.hid.send(

        connectionId:
  number,

        reportId:
  number,

        data:
  ArrayBuffer,

        callback?:
  function,

      
    )

Promise

Send an output report to the device.

Note: Do not include a report ID prefix in data. It will be added if necessary.

Parameters

connectionId
number
The connectionId returned by connect.
reportId
number
The report ID to use, or 0 if none.
data
ArrayBuffer
The report data.
callback
function optional
The callback parameter looks like: () => void

Returns

Promise<void>
Chrome 117+
Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.

sendFeatureReport


          
          
            chrome.hid.sendFeatureReport(

        connectionId:
  number,

        reportId:
  number,

        data:
  ArrayBuffer,

        callback?:
  function,

      
    )

Promise

Send a feature report to the device.

Note: Do not include a report ID prefix in data. It will be added if necessary.

Parameters

connectionId
number
The connectionId returned by connect.
reportId
number
The report ID to use, or 0 if none.
data
ArrayBuffer
The report data.
callback
function optional
The callback parameter looks like: () => void

Returns

Promise<void>
Chrome 117+
Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.

Events

onDeviceAdded


          
          
            chrome.hid.onDeviceAdded.addListener(

        callback:
  function,

      
    )

Event generated when a device is added to the system. Events are only broadcast to apps and extensions that have permission to access the device. Permission may have been granted at install time or when the user accepted an optional permission (see permissions.request).

Parameters

callback
function
The callback parameter looks like: (device: HidDeviceInfo) => void
- device
  HidDeviceInfo

onDeviceRemoved


          
          
            chrome.hid.onDeviceRemoved.addListener(

        callback:
  function,

      
    )

Event generated when a device is removed from the system. See onDeviceAdded for which events are delivered.

Parameters

callback
function
The callback parameter looks like: (deviceId: number) => void
- deviceId
  number