How do I make JavaScript beep?

I want my web page to beep whenever a user exceeds the maximum character limit of my <textarea>.

Solution

You can now use base64 files to produce sounds when imported as data URI. The solution is almost the same as the previous ones, except you do not need to import an external audio file.

function beep() {
    var snd = new Audio("data:audio/wav;base64,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");  
    snd.play();
}
beep();

Compatibility

Data URI is supported on almost every browser now. More information on http://caniuse.com/datauri

Demo

http://jsfiddle.net/7EAgz/

Conversion Tool

And here is where you can convert mp3 or wav files into Data URI format:

https://dopiaza.org/tools/datauri/index.php

It's not possible to do directly in JavaScript. You'll need to embed a short WAV file in the HTML, and then play that via code.

An Example:

<script>
function PlaySound(soundObj) {
  var sound = document.getElementById(soundObj);
  sound.Play();
}
</script>

<embed src="success.wav" autostart="false" width="0" height="0" id="sound1"
enablejavascript="true">

You would then call it from JavaScript code as such:

PlaySound("sound1");

This should do exactly what you want - you'll just need to find/create the beep sound yourself, which should be trivial.

/*if you want to beep without using a wave file*/
var context = new AudioContext();
var oscillator = context.createOscillator();
oscillator.type = "sine";
oscillator.frequency.value = 800;
oscillator.connect(context.destination);
oscillator.start();	
// Beep for 500 milliseconds
setTimeout(function () {
    oscillator.stop();
}, 100);				
			

The top answer was correct at the time but is now wrong; you can do it in pure javascript. But the one answer using javascript doesn't work any more, and the other answers are pretty limited or don't use pure javascript.

I made my own solution that works well and lets you control the volume, frequency, and wavetype.

//if you have another AudioContext class use that one, as some browsers have a limit
var audioCtx = new (window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext || window.audioContext);

//All arguments are optional:

//duration of the tone in milliseconds. Default is 500
//frequency of the tone in hertz. default is 440
//volume of the tone. Default is 1, off is 0.
//type of tone. Possible values are sine, square, sawtooth, triangle, and custom. Default is sine.
//callback to use on end of tone
function beep(duration, frequency, volume, type, callback) {
	var oscillator = audioCtx.createOscillator();
	var gainNode = audioCtx.createGain();
	
	oscillator.connect(gainNode);
	gainNode.connect(audioCtx.destination);
	
	if (volume){gainNode.gain.value = volume;}
	if (frequency){oscillator.frequency.value = frequency;}
	if (type){oscillator.type = type;}
	if (callback){oscillator.onended = callback;}
	
	oscillator.start(audioCtx.currentTime);
    oscillator.stop(audioCtx.currentTime + ((duration || 500) / 1000));
};

Someone suggested I edit this to note it only works on some browsers. However Audiocontext seems to be supported on all modern browsers, as far as I can tell. It isn't supported on IE, but that has been discontinued by Microsoft. If you have any issues with this on a specific browser please report it.

I wrote a function to beep with the new Audio API.

var beep = (function () {
    var ctxClass = window.audioContext ||window.AudioContext || window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext
    var ctx = new ctxClass();
    return function (duration, type, finishedCallback) {

        duration = +duration;

        // Only 0-4 are valid types.
        type = (type % 5) || 0;

        if (typeof finishedCallback != "function") {
            finishedCallback = function () {};
        }

        var osc = ctx.createOscillator();

        osc.type = type;
        //osc.type = "sine";

        osc.connect(ctx.destination);
        if (osc.noteOn) osc.noteOn(0); // old browsers
        if (osc.start) osc.start(); // new browsers

        setTimeout(function () {
            if (osc.noteOff) osc.noteOff(0); // old browsers
            if (osc.stop) osc.stop(); // new browsers
            finishedCallback();
        }, duration);

    };
})();

jsFiddle.

Using Houshalter's suggestion, I made this simple tone synthesizer demo.

Screenshot

Here is a screenshot. Try the live demo further down in this Answer (click Run code snippet).

Demo code

audioCtx = new(window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext)();

show();

function show() {
  frequency = document.getElementById("fIn").value;
  document.getElementById("fOut").innerHTML = frequency + ' Hz';

  switch (document.getElementById("tIn").value * 1) {
    case 0: type = 'sine'; break;
    case 1: type = 'square'; break;
    case 2: type = 'sawtooth'; break;
    case 3: type = 'triangle'; break;
  }
  document.getElementById("tOut").innerHTML = type;

  volume = document.getElementById("vIn").value / 100;
  document.getElementById("vOut").innerHTML = volume;

  duration = document.getElementById("dIn").value;
  document.getElementById("dOut").innerHTML = duration + ' ms';
}

function beep() {
  var oscillator = audioCtx.createOscillator();
  var gainNode = audioCtx.createGain();

  oscillator.connect(gainNode);
  gainNode.connect(audioCtx.destination);

  gainNode.gain.value = volume;
  oscillator.frequency.value = frequency;
  oscillator.type = type;

  oscillator.start();

  setTimeout(
    function() {
      oscillator.stop();
    },
    duration
  );
};

frequency
<input type="range" id="fIn" min="40" max="6000" oninput="show()" />
<span id="fOut"></span><br>
type
<input type="range" id="tIn" min="0" max="3" oninput="show()" />
<span id="tOut"></span><br>
volume
<input type="range" id="vIn" min="0" max="100" oninput="show()" />
<span id="vOut"></span><br>
duration
<input type="range" id="dIn" min="1" max="5000" oninput="show()" />
<span id="dOut"></span>
<br>
<button onclick='beep();'>Play</button>

You can clone and tweak the code here: Tone synthesizer demo on JS Bin

Have fun!

Compatible browsers:

• Chrome mobile & desktop
• Firefox mobile & desktop
• Opera mobile, mini & desktop
• Android browser
• Microsoft Edge browser
• Safari on iPhone or iPad

Not Compatible

• Internet Explorer version 11 (but does work on the Edge browser)

As we read in this answer, HTML5 will solve this for you if you're open to that route. HTML5 audio is supported in all modern browsers.

Here's a copy of the example:

var snd = new Audio("file.wav"); // buffers automatically when created
snd.play();

This will enable you to play the sound multiple times, in contrast to the top-voted answer:

var playSound = (function beep() {
	var snd = new Audio("data:audio/wav;base64,//uQRAAAAWMSLwUIYAAsYkXgoQwAEaYLWfkWgAI0wWs/ItAAAGDgYtAgAyN+QWaAAihwMWm4G8QQRDiMcCBcH3Cc+CDv/7xA4Tvh9Rz/y8QADBwMWgQAZG/ILNAARQ4GLTcDeIIIhxGOBAuD7hOfBB3/94gcJ3w+o5/5eIAIAAAVwWgQAVQ2ORaIQwEMAJiDg95G4nQL7mQVWI6GwRcfsZAcsKkJvxgxEjzFUgfHoSQ9Qq7KNwqHwuB13MA4a1q/DmBrHgPcmjiGoh//EwC5nGPEmS4RcfkVKOhJf+WOgoxJclFz3kgn//dBA+ya1GhurNn8zb//9NNutNuhz31f////9vt///z+IdAEAAAK4LQIAKobHItEIYCGAExBwe8jcToF9zIKrEdDYIuP2MgOWFSE34wYiR5iqQPj0JIeoVdlG4VD4XA67mAcNa1fhzA1jwHuTRxDUQ//iYBczjHiTJcIuPyKlHQkv/LHQUYkuSi57yQT//uggfZNajQ3Vmz+Zt//+mm3Wm3Q576v////+32///5/EOgAAADVghQAAAAA//uQZAUAB1WI0PZugAAAAAoQwAAAEk3nRd2qAAAAACiDgAAAAAAABCqEEQRLCgwpBGMlJkIz8jKhGvj4k6jzRnqasNKIeoh5gI7BJaC1A1AoNBjJgbyApVS4IDlZgDU5WUAxEKDNmmALHzZp0Fkz1FMTmGFl1FMEyodIavcCAUHDWrKAIA4aa2oCgILEBupZgHvAhEBcZ6joQBxS76AgccrFlczBvKLC0QI2cBoCFvfTDAo7eoOQInqDPBtvrDEZBNYN5xwNwxQRfw8ZQ5wQVLvO8OYU+mHvFLlDh05Mdg7BT6YrRPpCBznMB2r//xKJjyyOh+cImr2/4doscwD6neZjuZR4AgAABYAAAABy1xcdQtxYBYYZdifkUDgzzXaXn98Z0oi9ILU5mBjFANmRwlVJ3/6jYDAmxaiDG3/6xjQQCCKkRb/6kg/wW+kSJ5//rLobkLSiKmqP/0ikJuDaSaSf/6JiLYLEYnW/+kXg1WRVJL/9EmQ1YZIsv/6Qzwy5qk7/+tEU0nkls3/zIUMPKNX/6yZLf+kFgAfgGyLFAUwY//uQZAUABcd5UiNPVXAAAApAAAAAE0VZQKw9ISAAACgAAAAAVQIygIElVrFkBS+Jhi+EAuu+lKAkYUEIsmEAEoMeDmCETMvfSHTGkF5RWH7kz/ESHWPAq/kcCRhqBtMdokPdM7vil7RG98A2sc7zO6ZvTdM7pmOUAZTnJW+NXxqmd41dqJ6mLTXxrPpnV8avaIf5SvL7pndPvPpndJR9Kuu8fePvuiuhorgWjp7Mf/PRjxcFCPDkW31srioCExivv9lcwKEaHsf/7ow2Fl1T/9RkXgEhYElAoCLFtMArxwivDJJ+bR1HTKJdlEoTELCIqgEwVGSQ+hIm0NbK8WXcTEI0UPoa2NbG4y2K00JEWbZavJXkYaqo9CRHS55FcZTjKEk3NKoCYUnSQ0rWxrZbFKbKIhOKPZe1cJKzZSaQrIyULHDZmV5K4xySsDRKWOruanGtjLJXFEmwaIbDLX0hIPBUQPVFVkQkDoUNfSoDgQGKPekoxeGzA4DUvnn4bxzcZrtJyipKfPNy5w+9lnXwgqsiyHNeSVpemw4bWb9psYeq//uQZBoABQt4yMVxYAIAAAkQoAAAHvYpL5m6AAgAACXDAAAAD59jblTirQe9upFsmZbpMudy7Lz1X1DYsxOOSWpfPqNX2WqktK0DMvuGwlbNj44TleLPQ+Gsfb+GOWOKJoIrWb3cIMeeON6lz2umTqMXV8Mj30yWPpjoSa9ujK8SyeJP5y5mOW1D6hvLepeveEAEDo0mgCRClOEgANv3B9a6fikgUSu/DmAMATrGx7nng5p5iimPNZsfQLYB2sDLIkzRKZOHGAaUyDcpFBSLG9MCQALgAIgQs2YunOszLSAyQYPVC2YdGGeHD2dTdJk1pAHGAWDjnkcLKFymS3RQZTInzySoBwMG0QueC3gMsCEYxUqlrcxK6k1LQQcsmyYeQPdC2YfuGPASCBkcVMQQqpVJshui1tkXQJQV0OXGAZMXSOEEBRirXbVRQW7ugq7IM7rPWSZyDlM3IuNEkxzCOJ0ny2ThNkyRai1b6ev//3dzNGzNb//4uAvHT5sURcZCFcuKLhOFs8mLAAEAt4UWAAIABAAAAAB4qbHo0tIjVkUU//uQZAwABfSFz3ZqQAAAAAngwAAAE1HjMp2qAAAAACZDgAAAD5UkTE1UgZEUExqYynN1qZvqIOREEFmBcJQkwdxiFtw0qEOkGYfRDifBui9MQg4QAHAqWtAWHoCxu1Yf4VfWLPIM2mHDFsbQEVGwyqQoQcwnfHeIkNt9YnkiaS1oizycqJrx4KOQjahZxWbcZgztj2c49nKmkId44S71j0c8eV9yDK6uPRzx5X18eDvjvQ6yKo9ZSS6l//8elePK/Lf//IInrOF/FvDoADYAGBMGb7FtErm5MXMlmPAJQVgWta7Zx2go+8xJ0UiCb8LHHdftWyLJE0QIAIsI+UbXu67dZMjmgDGCGl1H+vpF4NSDckSIkk7Vd+sxEhBQMRU8j/12UIRhzSaUdQ+rQU5kGeFxm+hb1oh6pWWmv3uvmReDl0UnvtapVaIzo1jZbf/pD6ElLqSX+rUmOQNpJFa/r+sa4e/pBlAABoAAAAA3CUgShLdGIxsY7AUABPRrgCABdDuQ5GC7DqPQCgbbJUAoRSUj+NIEig0YfyWUho1VBBBA//uQZB4ABZx5zfMakeAAAAmwAAAAF5F3P0w9GtAAACfAAAAAwLhMDmAYWMgVEG1U0FIGCBgXBXAtfMH10000EEEEEECUBYln03TTTdNBDZopopYvrTTdNa325mImNg3TTPV9q3pmY0xoO6bv3r00y+IDGid/9aaaZTGMuj9mpu9Mpio1dXrr5HERTZSmqU36A3CumzN/9Robv/Xx4v9ijkSRSNLQhAWumap82WRSBUqXStV/YcS+XVLnSS+WLDroqArFkMEsAS+eWmrUzrO0oEmE40RlMZ5+ODIkAyKAGUwZ3mVKmcamcJnMW26MRPgUw6j+LkhyHGVGYjSUUKNpuJUQoOIAyDvEyG8S5yfK6dhZc0Tx1KI/gviKL6qvvFs1+bWtaz58uUNnryq6kt5RzOCkPWlVqVX2a/EEBUdU1KrXLf40GoiiFXK///qpoiDXrOgqDR38JB0bw7SoL+ZB9o1RCkQjQ2CBYZKd/+VJxZRRZlqSkKiws0WFxUyCwsKiMy7hUVFhIaCrNQsKkTIsLivwKKigsj8XYlwt/WKi2N4d//uQRCSAAjURNIHpMZBGYiaQPSYyAAABLAAAAAAAACWAAAAApUF/Mg+0aohSIRobBAsMlO//Kk4soosy1JSFRYWaLC4qZBYWFRGZdwqKiwkNBVmoWFSJkWFxX4FFRQWR+LsS4W/rFRb/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////VEFHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAU291bmRib3kuZGUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMjAwNGh0dHA6Ly93d3cuc291bmRib3kuZGUAAAAAAAAAACU=");  
	return function() {		
		snd.play();	
	}
})();

playSound(); // Play first time
playSound(); // Play second time

Now it easy enough with JavaScript AudioContext API. It fully supported by major desktop and mobile web browsers...

let context = null;

const beep = (freq = 520, duration = 200, vol = 100) => {
    const oscillator = context.createOscillator();
    const gain = context.createGain();
    oscillator.connect(gain);
    oscillator.frequency.value = freq;
    oscillator.type = "square";
    gain.connect(context.destination);
    gain.gain.value = vol * 0.01;
    oscillator.start(context.currentTime);
    oscillator.stop(context.currentTime + duration * 0.001);
}

document.querySelector('button').addEventListener('click', function () {
    context = new AudioContext();
    beep();
});

I wrote a small application that plays music from the Mario game without any audio file, just runtime. In my opinion it’s interesting, you can see the source code and listen it.

Using CSS you can do it if you add the following style to a tag, but you will need a wav file:

<style type="text/css">
        .beep {cue: url("beep.wav") }
</style>

var body=document.getElementByTagName("body");
body.className=body.className + " " + "beep";

Here's how I get it to beep using HTML5: First I copy and convert the windows wav file to mp3, then I use this code:

var _beep = window.Audio("Content/Custom/Beep.mp3")

function playBeep() { _beep.play()};

It's faster to declare the sound file globally and refer to it as needed.

This code supports sequencing of multiple beeps, as well as gradual change in frequency ('ramp' flag). Both examples are given below.

<script>
var audioContext = null;
var oscillatorNode = null;
var stopTime = 0;

function beep (frequency, durationSec, ramp=false)
{
	if (oscillatorNode == null) {
		audioContext = new (window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext) ();
		stopTime = audioContext.currentTime;

		oscillatorNode = audioContext.createOscillator();
		oscillatorNode.type = "sine";
		oscillatorNode.connect (audioContext.destination);
		if (ramp) {
			oscillatorNode.frequency.setValueAtTime (frequency, stopTime);
		}
		oscillatorNode.start ();
		oscillatorNode.onended = function() {
			oscillatorNode = null;
			audioContext = null;
		}
	}

	if (ramp) {
		oscillatorNode.frequency.linearRampToValueAtTime (frequency, stopTime);	// value in hertz
	} else {
		oscillatorNode.frequency.setValueAtTime (frequency, stopTime);	// value in hertz
	}

	stopTime += durationSec;
	oscillatorNode.stop (stopTime);
}
function test1()
{
    	beep (250, 0.5);
    	beep (1000, 0.2);
    	beep (550, 0.5);
}
    
function test2()
{
    	beep (50, 2, true);
    	beep (5000, 2, true);
    	beep (50, 0, true);
}
</script>
    
<button onclick='test1()'>Beep!</button>
<button onclick='test2()'>Beep(ramped)!</button>

There's no crossbrowser way to achieve this with pure javascript. Instead you could use a small .wav file that you play using embed or object tags.

function beep(wavFile){
	wavFile = wavFile || "beep.wav"
	if (navigator.appName == 'Microsoft Internet Explorer'){
		var e = document.createElement('BGSOUND');
		e.src = wavFile;
		e.loop =1;
		document.body.appendChild(e);
		document.body.removeChild(e);
	}else{
		var e = document.createElement('AUDIO');
		var src1 = document.createElement('SOURCE');
		src1.type= 'audio/wav';
		src1.src= wavFile;
		e.appendChild(src1);
		e.play();
	}
}

Works on Chrome,IE,Mozilla using Win7 OS. Requires a beep.wav file on the server.

function Sound(url, vol, autoplay, loop)
{
    var that = this;
    
    that.url = (url === undefined) ? "" : url;
    that.vol = (vol === undefined) ? 1.0 : vol;
    that.autoplay = (autoplay === undefined) ? true : autoplay;
    that.loop = (loop === undefined) ? false : loop;
    that.sample = null;
    
    if(that.url !== "")
    {
        that.sync = function(){
            that.sample.volume = that.vol;
            that.sample.loop = that.loop;
            that.sample.autoplay = that.autoplay;
            setTimeout(function(){ that.sync(); }, 60);
        };
        
        that.sample = document.createElement("audio");
        that.sample.src = that.url;
        that.sync();
        
        that.play = function(){
            if(that.sample)
            {
                that.sample.play();
            }
        };

        that.pause = function(){
            if(that.sample)
            {
                that.sample.pause();
            }
        };
    }
}

var test = new Sound("http://mad-hatter.fr/Assets/projects/FreedomWings/Assets/musiques/freedomwings.mp3");
test.play();

http://jsfiddle.net/sv9j638j/

Note:put this code in your javascript at the point you want the beep to occur. and remember to specify the directory or folder where the beep sound is stored(source).

<script>
//Appending HTML5 Audio Tag in HTML Body
$('<audio id="chatAudio"><source src="sound/notify.ogg" type="audio/ogg"><source src="sound/notify.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"><source src="sound/notify.wav" type="audio/wav"></audio>').appendTo('body');

$('#chatAudio')[0].play();
</script>

Reference:http://www.9lessons.info/2013/04/play-notification-sound-using-jquery.html.

I implemented this in a social media i am developing and it works find, a notification like that of facebook when chatting, notifying you that you have a new chat message

<html>
<head>
	<script src='https://surikov.github.io/webaudiofont/npm/dist/WebAudioFontPlayer.js'></script>
	<script src='https://surikov.github.io/webaudiofontdata/sound/0000_JCLive_sf2_file.js'></script>
	<script>
		var selectedPreset=_tone_0000_JCLive_sf2_file;
		var AudioContextFunc = window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext;
		var audioContext = new AudioContextFunc();
		var player=new WebAudioFontPlayer();
		player.loader.decodeAfterLoading(audioContext, '_tone_0000_JCLive_sf2_file');
	</script>
</head>
<body>
	<p><a href="#" onmousedown="player.queueWaveTable(audioContext, audioContext.destination, selectedPreset, 0, 55, 3.5);">Play a note</a></p>
	<hr/>
	<p><a href="https://github.com/surikov/webaudiofont">source</a></p>
</body>

listen here https://jsbin.com/lamidog/1/edit?html,output

You need a sound file to be served from somewhere. Here's the code from Scriptaculous's Sound library:

//Default:
<embed style="height:0" id="sound_#{track}_#{id}" src="#{url}" loop="false" autostart="true" hidden="true"/>

//For Gecko:
if(Prototype.Browser.Gecko && navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Win") > 0){
  if(navigator.plugins && $A(navigator.plugins).detect(function(p){ return p.name.indexOf('QuickTime') != -1 }))
    Sound.template = new Template('<object id="sound_#{track}_#{id}" width="0" height="0" type="audio/mpeg" data="#{url}"/>');
  else if(navigator.plugins && $A(navigator.plugins).detect(function(p){ return p.name.indexOf('Windows Media') != -1 }))
    Sound.template = new Template('<object id="sound_#{track}_#{id}" type="application/x-mplayer2" data="#{url}"></object>');
  else if(navigator.plugins && $A(navigator.plugins).detect(function(p){ return p.name.indexOf('RealPlayer') != -1 }))
    Sound.template = new Template('<embed type="audio/x-pn-realaudio-plugin" style="height:0" id="sound_#{track}_#{id}" src="#{url}" loop="false" autostart="true" hidden="true"/>');
  else
    Sound.play = function(){};
}