Accessibility

Accessibility

Flutter accessibility auditing and remediation across WCAG 2.2 conformance levels A, AA, and AAA. The skill is split into a workflow (this file) plus reference files loaded on demand:

• references/audit-templates.md — severity guide, report template, level-specific passed-check lists for A, AA, AA + selected AAA, and AAA. Also includes cross-platform severity adjustment table.
• references/examples.md — extended Flutter code per category, including WCAG 2.2 patterns (focus-not-obscured, dragging alternatives, Cupertino semantic wrappers, MergeSemantics correctness).
• references/widget-mapping.md — table mapping each Flutter widget to its accessibility requirement and the recommended implementation. Use it when auditing a specific widget.
• references/testing.md — complete accessibility test suite covering semantics, touch targets, focus management, contrast, text scaling, and motion. Use it when writing the tests that lock in a remediation.
• references/platforms/ios.md, android.md, web.md, macos.md, windows.md, linux.md — per-platform WCAG 2.2 checks. Load only the file(s) matching the selected platform(s).

Read whichever reference file matches the current phase. Do not duplicate its content here.

Core Standards

Apply these standards to all accessibility work:

Conformance Level — Begin every audit by asking which WCAG 2.2 conformance level the project targets (A, AA, AA + selected AAA, or AAA). Never assume AA.

Platform Selection — Begin every audit by asking which of the six platforms are targeted (iOS, Android, Web, macOS, Windows, Linux). Apply the platform rules from the matching file(s) in references/platforms/.

Image Semantics (WCAG 1.1.1) — Every Image must have semanticLabel, or be wrapped in Semantics(label:). Decorative images use excludeFromSemantics: true.

Gesture Detector (WCAG 2.1.1) — Never use bare GestureDetector for tap targets. Use InkWell, ElevatedButton, TextButton, or IconButton. GestureDetector is pointer-only and unreachable via keyboard or switch access.

Target Size (WCAG 2.5.8) — Target Size Minimum is 24x24 CSS px (≈ 24 dp) at AA. The VGV recommended minimum is 48x48 dp. Findings between 24 dp and 48 dp are flagged as VGV-style at AA, and as WCAG findings at AAA via 2.5.5 (44 dp).

Drag Alternatives (WCAG 2.5.7) — Every dragging-based function must offer a non-drag alternative on the same screen. Sliders need keyboard or stepper alternatives. Dismissible needs an explicit delete button. ReorderableListView needs up/down or "move to" controls.

Focus Not Obscured (WCAG 2.4.11) — A focused widget must not be entirely obscured by sticky headers, snackbars, bottom sheets, persistent FABs, or overlays. Use Scrollable.ensureVisible and Scaffold.resizeToAvoidBottomInset: true.

Color Differentiation (WCAG 1.4.1) — Never use color as the sole differentiator. Always pair color with a label, icon, or shape.

Animation and Motion (WCAG 2.3.3) — All animations must respect MediaQuery.disableAnimations. Gate every AnimationController, AnimatedContainer, Hero transition, and PageRouteBuilder transition on this flag.

Icon Buttons (WCAG 4.1.2) — Icon-only buttons must have a Tooltip or Semantics(label:). Screen readers have no other way to convey purpose.

Exclude Semantics (WCAG 1.1.1) — Never use ExcludeSemantics on non-decorative content.

Text Containers (WCAG 1.4.4) — Fixed-height containers must not wrap Text. Use minHeight constraints. Fixed heights clip text at 1.5x font scale on Android, sooner on iOS where Larger Accessibility Sizes go to ~3.1x.

Contrast (WCAG 1.4.3) — All text and UI components must meet the contrast ratio for the selected WCAG level. See the WCAG Level Criteria Reference section below.

Cupertino Semantics (WCAG 4.1.2) — Cupertino widgets (CupertinoSwitch, CupertinoSlider, CupertinoSegmentedControl, CupertinoButton) ship with weaker semantic defaults than their Material equivalents. Always wrap them in Semantics(label:, value:, button:).

Autofill Hints (WCAG 1.3.5) — Every TextField collecting structured personal data (email, username, password, name, address, phone, oneTimeCode) must declare autofillHints. Required for 1.3.5 at AA and the foundation for 3.3.7 Redundant Entry at A.

Async Announcements (WCAG 4.1.3) — Every async user-visible state change must announce itself via Semantics(liveRegion: true) or SemanticsService.announce.

Workflow

Every accessibility engagement follows four phases in sequence. Do not skip Phase 1 or Phase 2.

Cross-harness note. Phases 1, 2, and 4 below use AskUserQuestion. On a host without it, invoke whatever equivalent user-question tool the host provides; if it has none, ask the same question as plain numbered text. Either way, wait for the reply before proceeding.

Phase 1: Conformance Level Selection

Use AskUserQuestion to ask:

question: "Which WCAG 2.2 conformance level are you targeting?"
header: "WCAG level"
options:
  - label: "A"
    description: "Removes the most critical barriers. Includes the new 2.2 criteria 3.2.6 Consistent Help and 3.3.7 Redundant Entry."
  - label: "AA"
    description: "Standard most regulators require. Adds contrast, resize text, focus visible, plus the four new 2.2 AA criteria: 2.4.11, 2.5.7, 2.5.8, 3.3.8."
  - label: "AA + selected AAA"
    description: "AA across the app, plus specific AAA criteria scoped to flagged flows. Common: 1.4.6 enhanced contrast, 2.2.3 no timing, 2.4.13 focus appearance."
  - label: "AAA"
    description: "Full AAA. 7:1 contrast, no timing, no exceptions to keyboard. Rare for whole products."

If the user picks "AA + selected AAA", follow up with a free-text request for the AAA criterion IDs they want included (for example, "1.4.6, 2.2.3, 2.4.13").

Outcome: Record the selected level. All audit checks, criterion citations, and fix recommendations apply only the rules for that level (plus all levels below it) and any opted-in AAA criteria.

Phase 2: Platform Selection

Use AskUserQuestion (multi-select if available, otherwise one question with a comma-separated reply) to ask:

question: "Which platforms is this app targeting? Select all that apply."
header: "Platforms"
options:
  - label: "iOS"
    description: "VoiceOver, Switch Control, Dynamic Type up to 3.1x, Voice Control, Bold Text, Reduce Motion, Reduce Transparency."
  - label: "Android"
    description: "TalkBack, Switch Access, font scale up to 2x, Voice Access, color inversion."
  - label: "Web"
    description: "Flutter Web rendered to a Semantics-mapped DOM. NVDA + Chrome, JAWS + Chrome, VoiceOver + Safari."
  - label: "macOS"
    description: "VoiceOver, Full Keyboard Access, Reduce Motion, Increase Contrast."
  - label: "Windows / Linux desktop"
    description: "Narrator, NVDA, JAWS (Windows), Orca (Linux), Windows High Contrast Mode."

Outcome: Record the selected platforms. Load the matching file(s) from references/platforms/ (for example, references/platforms/ios.md for iOS, references/platforms/android.md for Android). Load only the files for platforms that were selected; do not load unnecessary files.

Phase 3: Level-Appropriate, Platform-Aware Audit

For each selected platform, audit the provided files or widgets across seven categories, in order:

1. Semantics and Screen Reader — Labels, roles, live regions, merge/exclude correctness, Cupertino semantic gaps, reading order under TalkBack and VoiceOver.

2. Touch Targets and Dragging Alternatives — WCAG 2.2 2.5.8 minimum (24 CSS px) at AA, 2.5.5 enhanced (44 CSS px) at AAA, VGV recommended 48 dp, plus 2.5.7 dragging alternatives.

3. Focus and Keyboard Navigation — Operability, traversal order, dialog focus trapping, focus indicators, plus 2.4.11 / 2.4.12 focus-not-obscured.

4. Color Contrast — Text and UI component ratios at the selected level's threshold (table below).

5. Text Scaling — No fixed-height text containers, no clamped text scaling. Cap simulations at 2x on Android and Web, 3x on iOS.

6. Animation and Motion — disableAnimations gating across AnimationController, Hero, AnimatedContainer, PageRouteBuilder. No content flashing above 3 Hz at AA, zero flashing at AAA.

7. Forms, Authentication, and Help — autofillHints (1.3.5, 3.3.7), accessible authentication (3.3.8 / 3.3.9), consistent placement of help mechanisms (3.2.6).

Apply only criteria active at the selected level (plus opted-in AAA) and relevant to the selected platforms.

For each finding, capture: file path and approximate line number, WCAG criterion ID + name + version (2.0 / 2.1 / 2.2), platform(s) affected, severity (CRITICAL / MAJOR / MINOR), current behavior, expected behavior, Flutter fix as a before-and-after diff.

Outcome: After completing all seven categories, produce the Audit Report using the template in references/audit-templates.md. Pick the level-specific passed-check list that matches Phase 1.

Phase 4: Remediation Scope Selection

After delivering the report, use AskUserQuestion:

question: "The audit is complete. How would you like to proceed with fixes?"
header: "Fix scope"
options:
  - label: "All issues"
    description: "Fix every CRITICAL, MAJOR, and MINOR finding"
  - label: "Critical + Major only"
    description: "Fix blockers and significant barriers; skip MINOR polish items"
  - label: "Critical only"
    description: "Fix only what blocks assistive technology users entirely"
  - label: "Specific findings"
    description: "List the finding numbers you want fixed"

Outcome: Apply exactly the fixes the user selects. After applying fixes, confirm: "Fixed [N] findings ([severities]). [N remaining] remain open."

Write tests covering every fix so it cannot regress. See references/testing.md for a suite spanning all seven audit categories, and references/widget-mapping.md when the correct implementation for a specific widget is unclear.

WCAG 2.2 Level Criteria Reference

Level AA includes all Level A criteria. Level AAA includes all Level A and AA criteria. The "Version" column flags whether the criterion is from WCAG 2.0, 2.1, or 2.2. WCAG 2.2 removed 4.1.1 Parsing.

Level A

Level AA (adds these to Level A)

Level AAA (adds these to A and AA)

Quick Anti-Pattern Reference

Full code samples and corrected versions live in references/examples.md. The patterns below are the ones the skill flags most often.

Semantics (WCAG 1.1.1, 4.1.2)

// WRONG: empty label, no label, ExcludeSemantics over actionable
Image.asset('assets/warning.png', semanticLabel: '')
Image.asset('assets/chart.png')
ExcludeSemantics(child: ElevatedButton(onPressed: _submit, child: const Text('Submit')))

// WRONG: Cupertino without semantic wrapper
CupertinoSwitch(value: _enabled, onChanged: _onChanged)

// WRONG: MergeSemantics around an interactive child folds the button's role away
MergeSemantics(
  child: Row(children: [const Text('Item'), IconButton(onPressed: _delete, icon: ...)]),
)

Touch Targets and Dragging (WCAG 2.5.8, 2.5.7)

// WRONG: 16x16 target, below WCAG 2.2 2.5.8 AA (24 dp)
SizedBox(width: 16, height: 16, child: GestureDetector(onTap: _onTap, child: const Icon(Icons.close, size: 16)))

// WRONG: Dismissible with no non-drag alternative (WCAG 2.2 2.5.7)
Dismissible(key: ValueKey(item.id), onDismissed: (_) => _delete(item), child: ListTile(title: Text(item.name)))

Focus (WCAG 2.1.1, 2.4.11)

// WRONG: GestureDetector is not keyboard-accessible
GestureDetector(onTap: _onTap, child: const Text('Click me'))

// WRONG: bottom bar covers focused TextField (WCAG 2.2 2.4.11)
Scaffold(
  resizeToAvoidBottomInset: false,
  bottomNavigationBar: const BottomAppBar(child: ...),
  body: ListView(children: [..., TextField(focusNode: _last), ...]),
)

Text Scaling and Motion (WCAG 1.4.4, 2.3.3)

// WRONG: clips text at 1.5x font scale
SizedBox(height: 48, child: Text('Status: Ready'))

// WRONG: animation always plays
AnimatedContainer(duration: const Duration(milliseconds: 500), color: ..., child: child)

For corrected snippets, full classes (AccessibleTapTarget, AccessibleSlider, AccessibleReorderableList, AccessiblePageRoute, AccessibleHero), and the Cupertino semantic wrappers, see references/examples.md.

Additional Resources

• references/audit-templates.md — severity guide, report template, level-specific passed-check lists, cross-platform severity table.
• references/examples.md — full Flutter widget classes per category, including all WCAG 2.2 patterns.
• references/widget-mapping.md — widget-to-requirement quick reference for all commonly audited Flutter widgets.
• references/testing.md — full accessibility test suite example across all seven audit categories.
• references/platforms/ios.md, android.md, web.md, macos.md, windows.md, linux.md — per-platform WCAG 2.2 checks and Flutter-specific gotchas.

Official references:

• WCAG 2.2 Recommendation
• WCAG 2.2 Understanding Document
• Flutter Accessibility Guide
• Flutter Web Semantics
• Apple HIG: Accessibility
• Material Design 3: Accessibility