Accessibility Tools
Intro text
Working with GitHub repositories
- Markdown Linter
- The Markdown Linter provides their recommended markdownlint configurations, and additional rules for use on GitHub open source and internal projects
- Accessibility alt-text bot
- This GitHub action reminds users to add alternative text to their images.
Code testing
| Application name | Application type | Platform | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accessibility Inspector | Desktop | macOS | Useful tool to look at the underlying accessibility of pretty much anything running on macOS, whether it's a web or desktop application. It does require that all of Xcode be downloaded, which is sizable. |
| aXe | Extension for Chromium and Firefox | Windows and macOS | The aXe extension provides accessibility reporting within the browser’s Dev Tools. |
| Web Developer | Extension for Chromium and Firefox | Windows and macOS | This long-standing browser extension isn’t specifically for testing web accessibility but it does contain useful tools. For example, it can replace images with their alt text, outline form fields without labels, and display a document's hierarchy of heading elements. |
Screen readers
| Application name | Application type | Platform | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDA | Desktop | Windows | NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) is an open-source, highly capable screen reader. It's an excellent choice for testing on Windows systems. If you download NVDA, please consider donating some money to support its continued development. |
| Narrator | Desktop | Windows | Narrator is the screen reader that ships as part of Windows. It isn't as fully featured as NVDA. |
| TalkBack | Touchscreen devices | Android | TalkBack ships as part Android. |
| VoiceOver | Desktop | macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS | VoiceOver is Apple's screen reader and is shipped as part of multiple operating systems |