Manage HTML A11Y

Add Accessibility

Document ARIA attributes as JSDoc annotations in component specs and validate WCAG 2.2 Level AA compliance.

See also: The accessibility prompt contains the same workflow as a standalone prompt.

When to use

When the user asks to "add accessibility", "add ARIA", "fix a11y", "document keyboard navigation", "add @aria annotations", or ensure a component is WCAG 2.2 Level AA compliant.

Inputs

Architecture

The spec rendering IS the accessibility specification. ARIA attributes are applied directly in the JSX render function. The @aria JSDoc annotations document what the component renders — they are not a test target.

The test runner (npm run test:a11y) only validates WCAG compliance via axe-core in JSDOM — no browser required. There is no ARIA rule comparison against a spec list.

JSDoc annotation system

All accessibility documentation lives in the spec file as structured JSDoc tags.

Two JSDoc blocks per component

[imports]
[type definitions]

/**                           ← COMPONENT BLOCK
 * @aria {attr} desc          ← ARIA attributes this component renders
 * @ux {feature} desc         ← UX interaction behaviors
 */
export const ComponentName: KendoComponent<...>

[render function]

ComponentName.states = ...
ComponentName.options = ...
ComponentName.folderName = ...

/**                           ← BOTTOM BLOCK
 * @keyboard {trigger} desc   ← Keyboard shortcuts
 * @see https://url text      ← WAI-ARIA specs, WCAG references
 */

export default ComponentName;

Tag reference

@aria — ARIA attributes (component block)

@aria {role="combobox"} Announces the input as a combobox widget.
@aria {aria-haspopup="listbox"} Indicates a listbox popup is available.
@aria {aria-expanded="true"|"false"} Announces popup visibility state.
@aria {aria-label|aria-labelledby} Required accessible name.
@aria {aria-disabled="true"} Rendered only when the component is disabled.
@aria {aria-controls} Points to the listbox id when popup is open.

Rules:

• One tag per distinct attribute
• | for alternatives: {aria-label|aria-labelledby}
• Include value context: {aria-expanded="true"|"false"}
• State-dependent: {aria-disabled="true"} Rendered only when disabled
• Sub-components each get their own @aria annotations

@ux — UX behaviors (component block)

@ux {Fixed position} Stays visible while the user scrolls the page.
@ux {Item selection} Clicking an item transfers focus and selection to it.

@keyboard — Keyboard shortcuts (bottom block)

Uses KeyboardEvent.key names:

@keyboard {Tab} Moves focus to the next focusable element.
@keyboard {Shift + Tab} Moves focus to the previous element.
@keyboard {Enter or Space} Activates the focused item.
@keyboard {Alt + ArrowDown} Opens the popup.
@keyboard {Control/Cmd(Mac) + Home} Moves focus to the first item.

@see — References (bottom block)

@see https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/combobox/ WAI-ARIA Combobox Pattern
@see https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/name-role-value.html WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value — combobox must have accessible name

WCAG Understanding page URLs:

• 1.1.1 → /non-text-content.html
• 1.3.1 → /info-and-relationships.html
• 4.1.2 → /name-role-value.html
• 4.1.3 → /status-messages.html

Procedure

Step 1: Gather context

packages/html/src/[component]/
├── [component].spec.tsx       ← main spec
├── [sub-component].spec.tsx   ← sub-component specs (if any)
├── templates/*.tsx            ← what actually renders
└── index.ts

Read the spec(s) and templates. Identify:

• What HTML elements and CSS classes are rendered
• Which elements are interactive
• What states exist (disabled, selected, expanded, etc.)
• Whether sub-components have their own spec files

Good reference components to review: autocomplete, button, combobox, tabstrip

Step 2: Add @aria annotations

Add/update the component JSDoc block before export const X: KendoComponent.

What to annotate:

• Role — implicit from <button>, <nav>, <input> OR explicit role=
• Accessible name — aria-label, aria-labelledby, title
• State — aria-expanded, aria-disabled, aria-selected, aria-checked, aria-pressed
• Range values — aria-valuenow, aria-valuemin, aria-valuemax
• ID references — aria-controls, aria-describedby, aria-activedescendant
• Ownership — aria-owns

Sub-components (separate .spec.tsx files) get their own @aria block covering only what they render. Example: tabstrip.spec.tsx has @aria {role="tablist"}, while tabstrip-item.spec.tsx has @aria {role="tab"}.

Step 3: Apply ARIA attributes in JSX

Rules:

• Semantic HTML first — <button> over <div role="button">
• Attributes after className
• Conditional values — use undefined to omit: aria-expanded={opened ? 'true' : 'false'}
• Icon-only elements — require aria-label
• disabled propagation — pass to all interactive children
• Dynamic IDs — use nextId(prefix) from misc; use a variable when two elements reference the same ID

// ✅ Correct attribute placement and conditional values
<input
    className="k-input-inner"
    role="combobox"
    aria-expanded={opened ? 'true' : 'false'}
    aria-controls={opened ? `${id}-listbox` : undefined}
    aria-label={ariaLabel}
    aria-disabled={disabled ? 'true' : undefined}
/>

Step 4: Add @keyboard and @see to the bottom block

After all static property assignments, add the bottom JSDoc block:

ComponentName.folderName = FOLDER_NAME;

/**
 * @keyboard {ArrowDown} Moves focus to the next item.
 * @keyboard {Escape} Closes the popup.
 *
 * @see https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/combobox/ WAI-ARIA Combobox Pattern
 */

export default ComponentName;

Step 5: Validate WCAG compliance

npm run build --prefix packages/html
npm run test:a11y [component]

Target: 0 violations.

For each violation:

1. Read the axe-core rule description
2. Fix the HTML structure or add missing attributes
3. Create additional templates for states that need coverage
4. Re-run until clean

npm run test:a11y [component] -- --build     # Build first then test

Step 6: Regenerate docs

npm run build --prefix packages/html
npm run docs --prefix packages/html

Verify packages/html/docs/[component].md shows correct sections:

• Component Style Options — from Component.options (auto-generated)
• ARIA Attributes — from @aria annotations
• Keyboard Navigation — from @keyboard annotations
• UX Behavior — from @ux annotations
• Resources — from @see annotations

Commands reference

npm run test:a11y                         # All components
npm run test:a11y button                  # One component
npm run test:a11y -- --build              # Build HTML package first
npm run docs --prefix packages/html       # Regenerate all docs