How to get user agent in PHP

Question

I'm using this JS code to know what browser is user using for.

<script>
  document.write(navigator.appName);
</script>

And I want to get this navigator.appName to php code to use it like this:

if ($appName == "Internet Explorer") {
  // blabla
}

How can I do it?

Related: [reliable user browser detection with php](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2257597/reliable-user-browser-detection-with-php). — showdev, Mar 17 '20 at 10:14

score 276 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 20 '12 at 09:49

276

Use the native PHP $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'] variable instead.

edited Apr 20 '12 at 09:49

Linus Kleen

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answered Apr 20 '12 at 09:48

noli

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14

Pay attention, this can be not set! – Thomas Decaux Oct 18 '16 at 18:19
20

In PHP7+, you can write `$_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']??null` to have it return null instead of throw an error when it isn't defined – Brian Leishman Aug 30 '17 at 16:29
Or do this, if you just want to do string manipulations later and do not want to care about null or not set: $ua = $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'].''; – user2078023 Aug 31 '17 at 11:47
31

Or simply check with `isset()`... Clean and readable code should always be a high priority. – StanE Nov 02 '17 at 18:59
2

@StanE - The PHP 7 version is perfectly fine. Novel !== Unreadable. – Pikamander2 Jun 09 '21 at 08:57
Of course, this variable should be considered unsafe. Don't trust the input it provides (filter/sanitize it) – Saeven Sep 02 '22 at 01:16

score 6 · Answer 2 · edited Nov 14 '18 at 14:36

6

You can use the jQuery ajax method link if you want to pass data from client to server. In this case you can use $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'] variable to found browser user agent.

edited Nov 14 '18 at 14:36

Muhammad Hassaan

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answered Apr 20 '12 at 09:51

arthur86

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is this working `$_SERVER['USER_AGENT']`?? Should be `$_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']`??? – jogesh_pi Apr 20 '12 at 09:54

score 6 · Answer 3 · edited Mar 17 '20 at 10:11

6

You could also use the php native funcion get_browser()

IMPORTANT NOTE: You should have a browscap.ini file.

edited Mar 17 '20 at 10:11

Dan Linh

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answered Oct 27 '18 at 07:00

Aurovrata

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This requires you to have an up-to-date browscap.ini file – nullability Mar 19 '19 at 19:07
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it does and there are quite a few online resources where you can download one for your site, such as [browscap.org](https://browscap.org/) – Aurovrata Mar 20 '19 at 06:54
1

return null or false – Fernando Torres Dec 27 '19 at 00:27
2

make sure you have a browscap.ini file – Aurovrata Dec 27 '19 at 07:54

score 6 · Answer 4 · answered May 07 '21 at 17:12

I use:

<?php
$agent = $_SERVER["HTTP_USER_AGENT"];

if( preg_match('/MSIE (\d+\.\d+);/', $agent) ) {
  echo "You're using Internet Explorer";
} else if (preg_match('/Chrome[\/\s](\d+\.\d+)/', $agent) ) {
  echo "You're using Chrome";
} else if (preg_match('/Edge\/\d+/', $agent) ) {
  echo "You're using Edge";
} else if ( preg_match('/Firefox[\/\s](\d+\.\d+)/', $agent) ) {
  echo "You're using Firefox";
} else if ( preg_match('/OPR[\/\s](\d+\.\d+)/', $agent) ) {
  echo "You're using Opera";
} else if (preg_match('/Safari[\/\s](\d+\.\d+)/', $agent) ) {
  echo "You're using Safari";
}

Similar answer here https://stackoverflow.com/a/59897333/3733214 — Gediminas, Mar 17 '22 at 07:55

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 13 '21 at 14:05

2

PHP 8 have this features $_SERVER['HTTP_SEC_CH_UA'] Sec-CH-UA let's you detect the browser name directly

if (  strpos ( $_SERVER['HTTP_SEC_CH_UA'],'Opera'   ){
       //        
    }

answered Oct 13 '21 at 14:05

Salem

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How to get user agent in PHP

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