To use WebRTC to establish real-time audio and video or data transmission between browsers, first create an RTCPeerConnection and configure the STUN server; 1. Create a connection instance and process ICE candidates to traverse NAT and firewalls; 2. Generate and exchange offers and answers to negotiate connections; 3. Add local media streams and receive remote streams through ontrack; 4. Listen to state changes and clean up resources correctly to avoid memory leaks. Handling asynchronous operations and necessary steps in sequence ensures successful connections.
WebRTC lets you connect browsers directly so users can share audio, video, or data in real time — no server needed for the actual media transfer. If you're trying to set up peer-to-peer communication using JavaScript and WebRTC, you're probably looking to build something like a video chat, screen sharing tool, or multiplayer game with low latency.

Here's how to get it working without getting stuck on common pitfalls.
Setting Up the Basic Connection
The first thing you need is an RTCPeerConnection instance. This is your main object for managing the connection between two peers.

const configuration = { iceServers: [{ urls: 'stun:stun.l.google.com:19302' }] }; const peerConnection = new RTCPeerConnection(configuration);
This code creates a basic connection with a STUN server, which helps peers find each other through NATs or firewalls. Without this, direct connections often fail in real-world networks.
You'll also want to handle ICE candidates — these are potential network paths between the two users. You exchange them through your own signaling channel (like WebSocket or Firebase):

peerConnection.onicecandidate = event => { if (event.candidate) { // Send candidate to remote peer via your signaling method } };
Once both sides have exchanged ICE candidates, the connection should start forming automatically.
Generating and Exchange Offers and Answers
To start a call, one side creates an offer:
const offer = await peerConnection.createOffer(); await peerConnection.setLocalDescription(offer); // Send offer to the other peer
The receiving peer takes that offer and responds with an answer:
await peerConnection.setRemoteDescription(offer); const answer = await peerConnection.createAnswer(); await peerConnection.setLocalDescription(answer); // Send answer back to the original peer
Both sides must set the remote description (the offer or answer they received), and then the ICE process kicks in to negotiate the best way to connect.
A few things to watch:
- Make sure you wait for
setLocalDescription
before sending the offer or answer. - Don't skip handling ICE candidates — missing even one can cause the connection to fail.
Adding Media Streams
If you're building a video chat, you'll need to capture local media and send it over:
const stream = await navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia({ video: true, audio: true }); stream.getTracks().forEach(track => peerConnection.addTrack(track, stream));
On the receiving end:
peerConnection.ontrack = event => { const remoteVideo = document.getElementById('remote-video'); remoteVideo.srcObject = event.streams[0]; };
This handles adding incoming video/audio to a DOM element. Note that ontrack
fires once per track (so possible twice if both audio and video are sent).
One thing people often miss: make sure you're listening for ontrack
before setting the remote description, otherwise you might miss the event.
Handling Disconnections and Cleanup
Connections don't last forever. Browsers may renegotiate, users close tabs, or networks drop. You should handle these events gracefully:
peerConnection.oniceconnectionstatechange = () => { if (peerConnection.iceConnectionState === 'disconnected') { console.log('Connection dropped'); // Handle reconnect or clean up } };
Also, when ending a call or navigating away, always close the connection:
peerConnection.close();
And remove any references to streams or tracks to avoid memory leaks.
Setting up WebRTC doesn't have to be complicated, but there are enough moving parts that small mistakes — like not waiting for async calls or forgetting to add tracks — can break everything silently. Stick to the flow: create connection → generate offer/answer → exchange SDP and ICE candidates → add media → handle state changes.
Basically that's it.
The above is the detailed content of Implementing JavaScript WebRTC for Peer-to-Peer Communication. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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