About Pa11y
Pa11y is a set of open source tools for testing web pages for accessibility issues. It includes a command-line tool, a dashboard for regular tests and a webservice that feeds the dashboard.
What it does
The Pa11y command-line tool loads a page and reports any accessibility issues it finds, which suits one-off checks. Pa11y Dashboard runs tests on a schedule and shows graphs of progress over time. Pa11y CI runs the same checks across a list of pages in a build pipeline. The webservice returns the data as JSON, so you can build your own front end.
Key features
- Command-line tool for one-off page checks
- Dashboard with daily tests and trend graphs
- Pa11y CI for running checks across many pages
- JSON webservice for custom dashboards
Who it's for
Pa11y suits developers who want accessibility checks in their build process, and QA teams who need to track issues across a site. The dashboard is useful for non-developers who want to see how a site performs over time.
Pricing and good to know
The tools are open source under the LGPL-3.0 licence, and the source is on GitHub. The project's documentation is under a separate licence, which is non-commercial, so check that before reuse. Automated checks catch only some accessibility problems, so combine them with manual testing and assistive technology.
Highlights
- Command-line tool that checks one page at a time
- Dashboard with daily tests and trend graphs
- Pa11y CI for running checks across many pages
- JSON webservice for building your own dashboard
