What is hls.js?

HLS.js is a JavaScript library that lets web browsers play HLS video streams, the format used by Apple for streaming video over the internet. Normally, many browsers do not natively support HLS, so this library fills that gap by working directly with the standard HTML video element you already use on any website. With nearly 17,000 stars on GitHub, it is widely used in production video players across the web. The library handles both live streams and on-demand video (VOD), meaning you can use it for anything from live sports broadcasts to a Netflix-style video library. It automatically adjusts video quality based on the viewer's internet speed, switching up or down to prevent buffering, and it does this smoothly without interrupting playback. It supports subtitles, multiple audio tracks, content protection through digital rights management systems like FairPlay, PlayReady, and Widevine, and closed captions. The heavy processing work runs in a Web Worker in the background so it does not slow down the rest of the page. It also handles error recovery automatically, retrying failed network requests and switching to backup playlists if the primary stream goes down. For developers, all internal events are exposed so you can build analytics on top of it. If you are building a video product and need HLS playback in a browser, this library is one of the most battle-tested options available.