bufferSource

BufferSource, formally known as AudioBufferSourceNode in the Web Audio API, is a node that provides a source of audio data for real‑time audio processing in web applications. It consumes an AudioBuffer, which contains raw sample data for one or more channels, and converts that data into an audio stream that can be routed through the Web Audio graph. The node does not store state beyond its initial configuration; when a buffer source is started it plays the buffer from the beginning and then stops automatically once the buffer has finished playing.

An AudioBufferSourceNode has a handful of configurable properties: loop indicates whether playback should repeat indefinitely, loopStart and loopEnd define the segment of the buffer to loop, and playbackRate controls the pitch and speed of playback. Methods include start(when, offset, duration) to begin playback at a scheduled time, cancelScheduledValues(when) to cancel future changes, and stop(when) to end playback early. After start() is called, the node cannot be restarted; a new source node must be created for each playback sequence.

Typical usage involves creating an AudioContext, decoding audio data into an AudioBuffer via decodeAudioData, instantiating an AudioBufferSourceNode, connecting it to a destination or other processing nodes, and calling start() to play. Common pitfalls are attempting to reuse the same source node for multiple plays and neglecting to connect the node to the audio graph before starting, which results in silent playback.