Auditing accessibility, fixing a11y violations

Accessibility Audit

WCAG 2.2 Accessibility Audit and Remediation Skill

Description

The a11y-audit skill provides a complete accessibility audit pipeline for modern web applications. It implements a three-phase workflow -- Scan, Fix, Verify -- that identifies WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA violations, generates exact fix code per framework, and produces stakeholder-ready compliance reports.

For every violation it finds, it provides the precise before/after code fix tailored to your framework (React, Next.js, Vue, Angular, Svelte, or plain HTML).

What this skill does:

1. Scans your codebase for every WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA violation, categorized by severity (Critical, Major, Minor)
2. Fixes each violation with framework-specific before/after code patterns
3. Verifies that fixes resolve the original violations and introduces no regressions
4. Reports findings in a structured format suitable for developers, PMs, and compliance stakeholders
5. Integrates into CI/CD pipelines to prevent accessibility regressions

Features

Feature	Description
Full WCAG 2.2 Scan	Checks all Level A and AA success criteria across your codebase
Framework Detection	Auto-detects React, Next.js, Vue, Angular, Svelte, or plain HTML
Severity Classification	Categorizes each violation as Critical, Major, or Minor
Fix Code Generation	Produces before/after code diffs for every issue
Color Contrast Checker	Validates foreground/background pairs against AA and AAA ratios
Compliance Reporting	Generates stakeholder reports with pass/fail summaries
CI/CD Integration	GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps pipeline configs
Keyboard Navigation Audit	Detects missing focus management and tab order issues
ARIA Validation	Checks for incorrect, redundant, or missing ARIA attributes

Severity Definitions

Severity	Definition	Example	SLA
Critical	Blocks access for entire user groups	Missing alt text, no keyboard access to navigation	Fix before release
Major	Significant barrier that degrades experience	Insufficient color contrast, missing form labels	Fix within current sprint
Minor	Usability issue that causes friction	Redundant ARIA roles, suboptimal heading hierarchy	Fix within next 2 sprints

Usage

Quick Start

# Scan entire project
python scripts/a11y_scanner.py /path/to/project

# Scan with JSON output for tooling
python scripts/a11y_scanner.py /path/to/project --json

# Check color contrast for specific values
python scripts/contrast_checker.py --fg "#777777" --bg "#ffffff"

# Check contrast across a CSS/Tailwind file
python scripts/contrast_checker.py --file /path/to/styles.css

Slash Command

/a11y-audit                    # Audit current project
/a11y-audit --scope src/       # Audit specific directory
/a11y-audit --fix              # Audit and auto-apply fixes
/a11y-audit --report           # Generate stakeholder report
/a11y-audit --ci               # Output CI-compatible results

Three-Phase Workflow

Phase 1: Scan -- Walk the source tree, detect framework, apply rule set.

python scripts/a11y_scanner.py /path/to/project --format table

Phase 2: Fix -- Apply framework-specific fixes for each violation.

See references/framework-a11y-patterns.md for the complete fix patterns catalog.

Phase 3: Verify -- Re-run the scanner to confirm fixes and check for regressions.

python scripts/a11y_scanner.py /path/to/project --baseline audit-baseline.json

Example: React Component Audit

// BEFORE: src/components/ProductCard.tsx
function ProductCard({ product }) {
  return (
    <div onClick={() => navigate(`/product/${product.id}`)}>
      <img src={product.image} />
      <div style={{ color: '#aaa', fontSize: '12px' }}>{product.name}</div>
      <span style={{ color: '#999' }}>${product.price}</span>
    </div>
  );
}

#	WCAG	Severity	Issue
1	1.1.1	Critical	<img> missing alt attribute
2	2.1.1	Critical	<div onClick> not keyboard accessible
3	1.4.3	Major	Color #aaa on white fails contrast (2.32:1, needs 4.5:1)
4	1.4.3	Major	Color #999 on white fails contrast (2.85:1, needs 4.5:1)
5	4.1.2	Major	Interactive element missing role and accessible name

// AFTER: src/components/ProductCard.tsx
function ProductCard({ product }) {
  return (
    <a href={`/product/${product.id}`} className="product-card"
       aria-label={`View ${product.name} - $${product.price}`}>
      <img src={product.image} alt={product.imageAlt || product.name} />
      <div style={{ color: '#595959', fontSize: '12px' }}>{product.name}</div>
      <span style={{ color: '#767676' }}>${product.price}</span>
    </a>
  );
}

See references/examples-by-framework.md for Vue, Angular, Next.js, and Svelte examples.

Tools Reference

a11y_scanner.py

Usage: python scripts/a11y_scanner.py <path> [options]

Options:
  --json                  Output results as JSON
  --format {table,csv}    Output format (default: table)
  --severity {critical,major,minor}  Filter by minimum severity
  --framework {react,vue,angular,svelte,html,auto}  Force framework (default: auto)
  --baseline FILE         Compare against previous scan results
  --report                Generate stakeholder report
  --output FILE           Write results to file
  --quiet                 Suppress output, exit code only
  --ci                    CI mode: non-zero exit on critical issues

contrast_checker.py

Usage: python scripts/contrast_checker.py [options]

Options:
  --fg COLOR              Foreground color (hex)
  --bg COLOR              Background color (hex)
  --file FILE             Scan CSS file for color pairs
  --tailwind DIR          Scan directory for Tailwind color classes
  --json                  Output results as JSON
  --suggest               Suggest accessible alternatives for failures
  --level {aa,aaa}        Target conformance level (default: aa)

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall	Correct Approach
role="button" on a <div>	Use native <button> -- includes keyboard handling for free
tabindex="0" on everything	Only interactive elements need focus; use native elements
aria-label on non-interactive elements	Use aria-labelledby pointing to visible text
display: none for screen reader hiding	Use .sr-only class instead
Color alone to convey meaning	Add icons, text labels, or patterns alongside color
Placeholder as only label	Always provide a visible <label>
outline: none without replacement	Always provide a visible focus indicator via focus-visible
Empty alt="" on informational images	Informational images need descriptive alt text
Skipping heading levels (h1 -> h3)	Heading levels must be sequential
onClick without onKeyDown	Add keyboard support or prefer native elements
Ignoring prefers-reduced-motion	Wrap animations in @media (prefers-reduced-motion: no-preference)

Related Skills

Skill	Relationship
senior-frontend	Frontend patterns used in a11y fixes
code-reviewer	Include a11y checks in code review workflows
senior-qa	Integration of a11y testing into QA processes
playwright-pro	Automated browser testing with accessibility assertions
epic-design	WCAG 2.1 AA compliant animations and scroll storytelling
tdd-guide	Test-driven development patterns for a11y test cases

Reference Documentation

Reference	Description
wcag-quick-ref.md	WCAG 2.2 Level A & AA criteria quick reference
wcag-22-new-criteria.md	New WCAG 2.2 success criteria (Focus Appearance, Target Size, etc.)
aria-patterns.md	ARIA patterns, keyboard interaction, and live regions
framework-a11y-patterns.md	Framework-specific fix patterns (React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, HTML)
color-contrast-guide.md	Color contrast checker details, Tailwind palette mapping, sr-only class
ci-cd-integration.md	GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, pre-commit hook configs
audit-report-template.md	Stakeholder-ready audit report template
testing-checklist.md	Manual testing checklist (keyboard, screen reader, visual, forms)
examples-by-framework.md	Full audit examples for Vue, Angular, Next.js, and Svelte

Resources

• WCAG 2.2 Specification
• WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices 1.2
• Deque axe-core Rules
• eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y