a11y-pass

name	a11y-pass
description	WCAG 2.2 AA fix pass for web UI. Use before shipping, or for requests about accessibility, a11y, keyboard navigation, screen readers, contrast, labels, focus, landmarks, target size, reduced motion, or ARIA.

Accessibility Pass (WCAG 2.2 AA)

Accessibility is whether a person can finish a real task without an avoidable barrier. Repair the failing path, then prove the repair in the rendered interface.

Triage one rendered user path

Write one path before opening a checker: entry → action → result/recovery. Name the user-facing outcome, the affected UI, and the smallest viewport or assistive setup that can expose the failure.

Path point	Inspect	Repair when it fails
Entry	landmark, page title, reading order, skip link	give the page a named, reachable start
Action	visible focus, native semantics, keyboard order, target size	repair the control before adding ARIA
Change	errors, loading, dialogs, live updates, motion	announce the meaningful change without stealing focus
Recovery	error copy, focus destination, retained input, retry	return the person to a specific next action
Layout	200% and 400% zoom, reflow, narrow viewport	remove horizontal loss and clipped controls

Start with native HTML. Use ARIA only to express a relationship or live behavior native elements cannot supply. Never use a role, audit score, or automated pass as proof that the path works.

Prove the path in the interface

1. Tab forward and backward from the browser chrome through completion. Record focus order, visible indicator, and any trap.
2. Trigger the failure state with the keyboard. Confirm focus stays purposeful, the error is programmatically associated, and entered data survives.
3. Read the affected region with a screen reader or inspect its computed name, role, value, state, and description. Check the update is announced once.
4. Measure the final rendered foreground/background pair and test reflow at 200% and 400%. Include text over imagery and disabled-looking controls if they carry meaning.
5. Repeat with reduced motion when the interaction animates. The non-motion path must still expose progress and completion.

A screenshot can support a claim; it cannot prove keyboard order or announcements. An automated audit can find candidates; it cannot clear the path.

Report a repair ledger

Use this row format for every finding:

Path / criterion	Observed failure	Repair	Evidence	Residual risk
Submit → invalid email	focus lands on an unnamed summary; inline error is silent	move focus to named summary, link field error with aria-describedby, retain value	keyboard trace; computed accessibility tree; 400% capture	screen-reader wording needs product review

Separate a confirmed defect from a design concern. State the browser, assistive technology or inspection method, viewport/zoom, and exact reproduction step. If the artifact is unavailable, stop and ask for the rendered path rather than inventing evidence.

Delivery and handoff

Prioritize blockers to task completion, then frequent-path defects, then polish. Send component lifecycle or form-state questions to the owning skill when the defect is a state-design problem rather than a WCAG repair.

• Audit method
• Keyboard and focus helper
• Decision records

Ship check

• A named user path has keyboard, semantic, zoom/reflow, and dynamic-state evidence.
• Every finding names a concrete control or region, repair, and verification result.
• Automated checks are labeled as discovery, not sign-off.
• Focus, announcements, errors, and reduced-motion behavior have an explicit owner.

Contract (generated)

Canonical detail: contract.json.

• Route: A rendered interface needs WCAG 2.2 AA repair findings verified by keyboard, browser, or measurement.; avoid: The request is only cognitive load or multilingual expansion without an accessibility defect.
• Exclude: Do not self-attest a fix without browser or source evidence. (+1 in contract.json)
• Stop / handoff: Stop when the user path or target artifact is unavailable. (+1 in contract.json); receives [component-states, form-ux, responsive-layout, theming, art-direction, cognitive-a11y, color-system, data-viz, deslop-ui, empty-states, i18n-ready, improve-existing-website, micro-motion, web-typography] -> sends [tastecheck-pass]
• Output: prioritized WCAG repair ledger with measured verification
• Evidence: table_with_evidence with status, reason, remediation, evidence, provenance.