AxessAI is a Visual Studio Code extension designed to help developers identify and resolve accessibility issues in web applications. It offers comprehensive accessibility scanning, detailed issue analysis, and expert guidance to enhance the accessibility of your projects.
Features
Accessibility Scanning: Scan websites—including remote, locally hosted, and static HTML files—for accessibility issues and receive detailed reports. (Free: No subscription required)
Issue Analysis: Obtain specific, actionable guidance for resolving identified accessibility issues. (Contact the team for access to AI and RAG features)
Accessibility Knowledge Base: Access a robust knowledge base to answer any web accessibility-related questions. (Contact the team for access to AI features)
Copilot Integration: Apply AI-generated code fixes directly to your codebase. (Contact the team for access to AI features)
Requirements
Visual Studio Code version 1.60.0 or higher
GitHub Copilot Chat
OpenAI API Key (*)
API URL and Access Token (*)
(*) Contact the team to obtain these credentials. They are required for advanced features such as issue resolution guidance, direct code fixes in static HTML files, and access to AxessAI's expert knowledge base.
Usage
Open Visual Studio Code and launch Copilot Chat. Type @axessAI to interact with the agent.
Supported commands:
/scan [url] — Scan the specified URL for accessibility issues and receive a formatted report. (No access key required)
/fix [issue number] — Analyze a specific issue and receive step-by-step resolution guidance, including examples. If the scan was performed on a local file, fixes can be applied directly in the editor.
/info [question] (default) — Get answers to any accessibility-related query.
/scan — Scan the currently active HTML file in the editor for issues.
/authenticate [url] - Authenticate your application for scanning. User will be navigated to the URL provided where they can login to preserve the session.
After providing the required API access key and OpenAI token, you can interact with the extension using natural language. Example queries:
Find accessibility issues on http://localhost:3000
Are there issues on https://devon.nl/en/
Can you check if http://localhost:3000 is accessibility compliant?
Can you help me fix the first issue from the report?
Can you give me information about color contrast issues reported?
Review multiple suggested fixes and code snippets generated from the scan context.
Apply fixes directly in your editor after performing a local file scan—either by using Copilot's "Apply Changes" option from the code block, or by allowing the extension to apply the fix automatically.
Release Notes
8.0.0
Added ability to scan authenticated pages using /authenticate command. This command helps the user to manually authenticate and reuse the session for further scanning.
7.0.0
Resolved issues that prevented scanning of locally hosted applications.
6.0.0
Added the ability to scan files within the IDE editor and apply fixes directly.
Introduced configuration requiring a client secret (access token) for backend agent access.
5.0.0
Enabled website scanning and summary reporting without backend access.
Added support for scanning localhost URLs.
API Access Token required for advanced features such as assistance and query answering.
4.0.0
Introduced additional access token requirements for AI-powered extension features.
3.0.0
Enhanced natural language understanding, allowing users to interact without explicit commands.
2.0.0
Added the ability to scan static URLs for accessibility issues.
Enabled issue-specific resolution instructions and approaches.
1.0.1
Initial release of AxessAI VS Code Extension, featuring accessibility explanation capabilities via the Accessibility Expert Agent.
