Browser Compatibility

Which browsers and features work in each BeamTracer app — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and mobile support matrix.

BeamTracer runs in the browser and uses modern web APIs. Here's what works where.

Recommended Browser

Use Chrome or Edge (Chromium-based) for full feature access across all three apps. They are what BeamTracer is built and tested against, and they are the only browsers that support every API it uses — in particular WebUSB, which laser DAC output needs and which no other engine implements.

Compatibility Matrix

Feature	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Safari	Mobile
ILDA Viewer (2D)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
3D Viewer (HD mode)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Partial
3D Viewer (Haze/Cinema)	Yes	Yes	Untested	Untested	Untested
Animation Studio	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	No
Video to Laser	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	No
OSC-1 Oscilloscope	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Partial
Web MIDI (OSC-1/Viz)	Yes	Yes	Add-on	No	No
WebUSB (Helios DAC)	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
WebGPU Visualizers	Yes	Yes	Untested	Untested	Untested
Video Export	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	No

Partial means the feature loads and runs, but a capability it depends on is missing or slower — expect reduced quality, fewer options, or a software fallback rather than a clean failure.

Untested means the browser now implements the API and BeamTracer does not block it — the app checks for the capability rather than checking which browser you are using, so it will attempt to run. We develop and verify against Chrome and Edge, so we cannot promise the result. Try it; if something renders incorrectly, tell us.

Add-on means supported after a one-time permission install. See MIDI Support.

WebGPU Visualizers

Several Audio Visualizers and OSC-1 beam modes require WebGPU. This is no longer a Chromium-only API — all three major engines now ship it, though with real platform gaps:

Browser	WebGPU
Chrome / Edge	113+ on Windows, macOS and ChromeOS; Linux from Chrome 144 (Intel Gen12+ GPUs only)
Firefox	141+ on Windows; 145+ on Apple Silicon Macs running macOS Tahoe, 147+ on earlier macOS. Not on Intel Macs, not on Linux
Safari	26+ (macOS Tahoe 26, iOS 26, iPadOS 26, visionOS 26)
Chrome on Android	121+ (Android 12 and later)

Support for the API is not the same as support for this catalog. We test these visualizers on Chrome and Edge. On Firefox and Safari they will attempt to run rather than refuse, but Chrome or Edge is the supported choice if a mode does not render correctly.

The visualizers and beam modes that need WebGPU:

Spectrum Analyzer
Oscilloscope Glow
Wire Tunnel
Landscape
Terrain Mesh
Fracture
Ether Weave
Flow Lines
Lissajous
Line Dance
Resonate
Ring Master
Particle Burst
Man In White
Flying Equations
Spirals
Fireworks
Spectrum Sphere
Marble Madness
Biojelly
Medusae
Smoke Simulation
Fireball
Water Ball
Plasma Disk
Plasma Ball
Water Floor
Electric Waves
Poly Sonic
Angular CRT
Rorschach Test
Spectra Bars
Digital Rain
Scrolling Text
Aurora Grid
Spin Daddy
Watson and Crick
Light Rays
Club Strobe
Waterfall
Cell Block 4
Pitch Stream
Disco Drift
GIF Matrix
Test Pattern
Galaxy
Protostar
Planetesimal
Binary Star
Water Beads
Fluidic Time
Time Displacement
Daft Time
Background Discs
Glitter
Geometric Cave

Haze and Cinema beam modes in OSC-1

Where WebGPU is unavailable, BeamTracer shows an unavailable state for these visualizers instead of quietly opening a different one.

MIDI Support

Chrome and Edge: supported since Chrome 43, no extra steps.

Firefox: supported since Firefox 108, behind a one-time install. When a site first asks for MIDI access and you have a device connected, Firefox offers to install a small auto-generated permission add-on; accept it and MIDI works from then on. Nothing to configure on our side. If no MIDI device is attached, Firefox rejects the request after a delay instead of prompting — so connect your controller before loading the page. You can undo the permission from about:addons under Site Permissions.

Safari: not supported, on any platform. WebKit has declined to implement Web MIDI over fingerprinting concerns and has no announced plans, and because every iOS browser uses WebKit, there is no MIDI on iPhone or iPad regardless of which browser you install.

Laser Hardware Output

Live DAC streaming to a Helios uses WebUSB, which only Chromium-based browsers implement — Firefox and Safari have both declined it. This is the one genuinely Chrome-or-Edge feature in the product, and unlike the WebGPU rows above there is no prospect of that changing.

ILDA file export has no such restriction and works anywhere.

macOS Safari Notes

Safari handles the WebAudio, Canvas, WebGL and viewing workflows well. Safari 26 also added WebGPU, so the visualizer catalog is no longer ruled out on the API — but we test on Chrome and Edge, so treat it as unverified rather than supported. Web MIDI and WebUSB are unavailable, so MIDI control and laser DAC output are not possible in Safari. Video and export behaviour varies with the codecs Safari makes available.

Mobile

Mobile browsers can view ILDA files and play oscilloscope music in basic mode. Chrome on Android has supported WebGPU since version 121, so some visualizers may run, but the creation tools (Animation Studio, Video to Laser, 3D Viewer) are built for a pointer and a large canvas and are not optimised for touch.

Browser support figures last verified against MDN's browser-compat-data on 10 August 2026. This class of fact changes quickly — WebGPU went from one engine to three in about a year.