A11y Lint is a lightweight developer-focused linter that scans HTML, CSS, and JSX files for common accessibility issues during development — right in your code editor.
Web accessibility is too often an afterthought, discovered only in audits or by users who face barriers. Popular tools like Axe are excellent, but they:
- Rely on runtime in-browser testing
- Are not always friendly for dev-first feedback
- Can feel too heavy or complex for small projects A11y Lint solves this by working like ESLint — it gives instant feedback in the editor as you type.
| Feature | A11y Lint | Axe (and others) |
|---|---|---|
| Works in VS Code | ✅ Yes | ❌ (browser only) |
| Runs statically on save | ✅ Yes | ❌ Needs runtime |
| Custom rules per filetype | ✅ HTML, CSS, JSX | ✅ (but abstracted) |
| Lightweight setup | ✅ Simple, no browser dependency | ❌ Requires browser/iframe |
| Developer-first workflow | ✅ Lints code during writing | ❌ After-the-fact |
- Clone or install the extension from source
- Run your dev server with the extension active in VS Code
- A11y Lint will highlight WCAG issues in HTML, CSS, or JSX files as you code