Intent to Ship: WebTransport Datagram readable stream type

[Chromestatus]

Contact emails

ri...@chromium.org, moni...@microsoft.com

Explainer

https://github.com/w3c/webtransport/blob/main/explainer.md

Specification

https://www.w3.org/TR/webtransport/#dom-webtransportoptions-datagramsreadabletype

Summary

Adds the  WebTransportOptions.datagramsReadableType  constructor option. By default, incoming WebTransport Datagrams are exposed through a default  ReadableStream . Applications that require BYOB reading can request a readable byte stream by setting  datagramsReadableType: "bytes" .

Blink component

Blink>Network>WebTransport

Web Feature ID

webtransport

Motivation

WebTransport Datagrams are discrete messages rather than an undifferentiated byte sequence. A readable byte stream can lose empty Datagrams and can lose message boundaries when BYOB reads use a minimum byte count spanning multiple Datagrams. Making a default  ReadableStream  the default preserves Datagram boundaries and empty Datagrams. Applications that benefit from BYOB allocation control can explicitly opt into the byte-stream behavior.

Initial public proposal

No information provided

TAG review

Not applicable — this is a small incremental addition within the existing WebTransport specification.

TAG review status

Not applicable

Goals for experimentation

None

Risks

Interoperability and Compatibility

Interoperability risk is low to medium. The API and default-stream behavior are defined in the WebTransport specification and covered by WPT. Firefox already uses a default non-byte stream when the option is omitted, but does not yet support the explicit  "bytes"  mode in current public test runs. Compatibility risk is mitigated by runtime gating. Chromium historically exposed the Datagram readable as a byte stream, so enabling the feature changes the default behavior: existing applications using a BYOB reader without specifying  datagramsReadableType: "bytes" would fail. Applications using ordinary readers continue to receive  Uint8Array  chunks

Gecko: Positive (https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2007755) Firefox is implementing datagramsReadableType: "bytes" and BYOB Datagram reads

WebKit: In development (https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=319830) WebKit main implements the standardized datagramsReadableType option

Web developers: Positive (https://github.com/web-platform-tests/interop/issues/1121) The Interop 2026 WebTransport proposal received 28 👍 reactions. Developers also reported active WebTransport use and significant cross-engine differences.

Other signals:

Ergonomics

Low. The default stream better matches Datagram message semantics. Applications needing BYOB allocation control must explicitly opt into  "bytes" , making the semantic tradeoff visible in application code.

Activation

The main activation risk is existing Chromium-specific code assuming that  transport.datagrams.readable  always supports BYOB readers. Such applications must explicitly request  datagramsReadableType: "bytes" . The feature remains experimentally gated while compatibility and interoperability are evaluated.

Security

Low. The option changes only the JavaScript stream adapter used to expose already-received Datagrams. It does not provide additional network access, expose new information, or alter WebTransport’s secure-context and connection security requirements.

WebView application risks

Does this intent deprecate or change behavior of existing APIs, such that it has potentially high risk for Android WebView-based applications?

Low. The implementation is cross-platform Blink code and requires no WebView-specific integration. The primary compatibility consideration is the same as Chrome: applications using a BYOB reader must explicitly request  datagramsReadableType: "bytes" .

Debuggability

No feature-specific DevTools UI is required. Applications can inspect whether  datagrams.readable  supports BYOB by attempting to acquire a BYOB reader. Existing WebTransport logging, NetLog, and DevTools network diagnostics remain available for connection and Datagram issues.

Will this feature be supported on all six Blink platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS, Android, and Android WebView)?

Yes
Yes. Implemented in cross-platform Blink code without platform-specific dependencies.

Is this feature fully tested by web-platform-tests?

Yes
https://wpt.fyi/results/webtransport/datagrams.https.any.html?label=experimental&label=master&aligned

Flag name on about://flags

chrome://flags/#enable-experimental-web-platform-features

Finch feature name

WebTransportDatagramsReadableType

Rollout plan

Will ship enabled for all users

Requires code in //chrome?

False

Tracking bug

https://issues.chromium.org/issues/547572475

Availability expectation

WebKit has implemented the option and corresponding default-stream behavior in its main branch. Firefox implements the default non-byte stream behavior, although explicit  "bytes" /BYOB mode does not yet pass current public WPT runs. Broad availability is expected as implementations converge on the WebTransport specification.

Adoption expectation

Adoption is expected mainly among WebTransport applications that use BYOB readers or need reliable preservation of Datagram message boundaries. Most applications using ordinary readers require no code changes.

Adoption plan

Adoption is expected through WebTransport documentation and Interop 2026 visibility. Existing Chromium applications using BYOB readers will need to explicitly set  datagramsReadableType: "bytes"  when the feature is enabled.

Estimated milestones

Shipping on desktop	159
DevTrial on desktop	155
Shipping on Android	159
DevTrial on Android	155
Shipping on WebView	159

Anticipated spec changes

Open questions about a feature may be a source of future web compat or interop issues. Please list open issues (e.g. links to known github issues in the project for the feature specification) whose resolution may introduce web compat/interop risk (e.g., changing to naming or structure of the API in a non-backward-compatible way).

None currently anticipated. The option and default-stream behavior are already defined in the WebTransport specification.

Link to entry on the Chrome Platform Status

https://chromestatus.com/feature/5148774971342848?gate=5517621058469888

Links to previous Intent discussions

Intent to Prototype: https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/6aa86417.edf999b6.71d4e.0a07.GAE%40google.com

This intent message was generated by Chrome Platform Status.