Public documentation
Scanner methodology
How scanner sources, provenance, confidence, and review categories are assigned.
Scanner sources
axe-core findings
Generated by the bundled local axe-core engine. A11Y Cat preserves rule ID, impact, target, help URL, tags, checks, and evidence where available.
A11Y Cat custom checks
Product-owned checks cover metadata, links, language, spelling, headings, alt/name analysis, contrast review, state coverage, diagnostics, review categories, local history, and export shaping.
Manual and review items
Generated when automation cannot safely confirm a failure, including incomplete engine results, visual ambiguity, hidden-state limits, link-purpose judgement, language heuristics, and assistive-technology workflow review.
Diagnostics and limitations
Explain runtime errors, inaccessible frames, restricted pages, skipped checks, suppressed areas, unsupported contexts, and export support boundaries.
Classification rules
| Output | Required confidence | Typical source | Reporting rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirmed issue | High | axe-core violation or strict custom rule that passes reliability gates | Can appear in main scanner results as a remediation candidate. |
| Needs review | Human judgement required | incomplete result, visual ambiguity, interaction dependency, editorial judgement | Must be reviewed before being filed as a defect. |
| Advisory | Supportive, not defect-grade | metadata, spelling, language specificity, quality signal | Use as guidance or backlog input. |
| Limitation | Boundary is known | restricted context, missing state, frame boundary, unsupported evidence | Record the gap and use another method. |
| Diagnostic | Operational | permission, storage, runtime, export, scan coverage | Use for troubleshooting, not page-failure reporting. |
Contrast methodology boundary
Confirmed contrast findings are shown in the main scanner only for axe-core color-contrast violations or custom rendered-text findings that pass strict reliability gates. Gradients, background images, transparency, overlays, dynamic backgrounds, CSS effects, text over media, known injected overlays such as BugHerd, disabled/inactive states, decorative/logo text, icon-like SVG content, image/canvas-rendered text, clipped/offscreen paint, unknown layering, and fallback-to-white cases are excluded, downgraded, or routed to review with a reason.
Design screenshot evidence
Image-only design review can discuss visible layout, hierarchy, spacing, contrast concerns, content clarity, and likely accessibility risks. It must not create fake DOM, selector, focus order, ARIA, accessible-name, semantic HTML, tab order, form label, or real screen reader findings from a PNG, JPG, or WebP screenshot.
Screen Reader Review evidence
The Screen Reader Review aid can organise expected reading order, visible content checks, review notes, virtual review output, and exports. It does not prove real NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, TalkBack, or Narrator behaviour unless the reviewer adds real evidence from those tools.