# WICG/webusb

Connecting hardware to the web.

Repository: https://github.com/WICG/webusb
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/webusb
Homepage: https://wicg.github.io/webusb/
Language: Bikeshed
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: shipping-chromium
Last push: 2026-06-05T19:45:25+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 71/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 86, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4135, "days_push": 89, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1407, forks 139 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:38.417630+00:00)

## What it is
The WebUSB API specification, a W3C Community Group draft that defines a JavaScript API for securely accessing USB devices directly from web pages. This repository hosts the specification documents and related test API, with implementations shipping in Chromium-based browsers.

## Use cases
- access usb devices from a web page
- control arduino from the browser
- flash firmware to a device without installing drivers
- build a web-based adb client
- control a dslr camera from javascript
- web-enable legacy usb serial devices

## When to choose
- you need to communicate with custom USB hardware from a browser without native drivers
- you are targeting Chromium-based browsers on desktop or Android
- you want to build device programming or control tools that run entirely in the web

## When to avoid
- you need cross-browser support in Firefox or Safari, which do not implement WebUSB
- you need access to standard USB device classes like keyboards, storage, or audio that the OS already claims
- you are building a native application where direct OS USB APIs are simpler

## Facets
- artifact type: learning-resource
- maturity: active
- function: sdk, security, developer-tools
- domain: web-development, hardware, apis, browser-extensions
- platform: browser, cross-platform
- tags: webusb, usb, browser-api, specification, hardware-access, w3c, chromium, nodejs

## Member repositories
- WICG/webusb (main) score 71

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:38.417630+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:38:37.643861+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/WICG/webusb (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:38.417630+00:00, sha db4d51a08974)
  - homepage: https://wicg.github.io/webusb/ (fetched 2026-08-29T11:52:07.772752+00:00, sha 30c0d4118f87)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.