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Configuration options for automated accessibility testing

Customize accessibility testing in automated tests.

Configuration options

The following table lists the keys you can use to configure accessibility testing:

Use-case	Key	Description	Values
Specify WCAG version	`wcagVersion` (add under `accessibilityOptions`)	Specify the WCAG ruleset that is targeted during automatic issue detection.	`wcag22aaa`, `wcag22aa`, `wcag22a`, `wcag21aaa`, `wcag21aa`, or `wcag21a`. Default is `wcag21aa`.
Include or exclude best practice issues	`bestPractice` (add under `includeIssueType`, nested within `accessibilityOptions`)	Issues marked as best practices aren’t Accessibility guideline violations, but resolving them will improve the overall user experience.	`true` or `false`. Default is `true`.
Scanner processing timeout at the end of a test case	`scannerProcessingTimeout` (add under `accessibilityOptions`)	Set a timeout for scanner processing to completely stop processing when a test case ends.	Specify the timeout value in seconds. The default is `360`. There is no maximum limit.
Platform selection	`accessibility`	Enables accessibility testing only on specific device and OS combinations. Add the `accessibility` flag at the device level in the `platforms` section for YAML and under `capabilities` section for JavaScript.	`true` or `false`. This is an optional flag that overrides the `accessibility` flag set at the root level.
Include test cases	`includeTagsInTestingScope`	Test cases with these tags, annotations or groups will be included in the accessibility testing scope. Learn to include specific test cases in accessibility testing scope.	List of test case tags
Exclude test cases	`excludeTagsInTestingScope`	Test cases with these tags, annotations or groups will be excluded from the accessibility testing scope. Learn to exclude specific test cases in accessibility testing scope.	List of test case tags
Include or exclude issues that need manual review	`needsReview` (add under `includeIssueType`, nested within `accessibilityOptions`)	Include or exclude issues that require manual review. Issues that need manual review are flagged as Needs review in your test reports. For more information, see Managing Needs Review.	`true` or `false`. Default is `true`. Set to `false` to exclude these issues from the report.
Start and stop automatic App Accessibility scans	`autoScanning` (add under `accessibilityOptions`)	Enable or disable automatic accessibility scans. This allows you to run targeted accessibility checks on specific screens, workflows, or components in your mobile app. Learn more about targeted scans.	`true` or `false`. Default is `true`. Set to `false` to disable automatic scans.
Generate Screen Reader Report	`screenReaderAutomationReport` (add under `accessibilityOptions`)	Generate a detailed report highlighting how your app’s UI is interpreted by screen readers. For more information, see Generating a Screen Reader Report.	`true` or `false`. Default is `false`. Set to `true` to generate the report.
Exclude rules	`excludeRule` (add under `accessibilityOptions`)	Excludes specific accessibility rules from automated testing by specifying their rule IDs.	List of rule IDs. For a complete list of rule IDs, refer to the Accessibility rule mapping.
Exclude rule categories	`excludeRuleCategory` (add under `accessibilityOptions`)	Excludes entire categories of accessibility rules from automated testing by specifying their category names. All rules within the category are excluded.	List of category names. For a complete list of category names, refer to the Accessibility rule mapping.

If you add a rule to the excludeRule list and its corresponding category to the excludeRuleCategory list, the category setting takes precedence and the entire category is excluded.

Example

The following code snippets show how to add the configuration options to your test suite:

YAML
JavaScript

...
accessibility: true              # Root level accessibility flag.
accessibilityOptions:
    wcagVersion: wcag21aaa       # Default: wcag21aa
    scannerProcessingTimeout: 20 # Default: 10
    includeTagsInTestingScope: ["accessibility", "workflow"] # Tags to include test cases
    excludeTagsInTestingScope: ["old"]        # Tags to exclude test cases
    autoScanning: true           # Disable automatic accessibility scans. Default: true
    screenReaderAutomationReport: true  # Enable Screen Reader Report generation
    excludeRule: ["interactive-element-label", "non-text-contrast"]                 # List of rule IDs to be excluded from the scan
    excludeRuleCategory: ["touch-target-size"]        # List of rule categories to be excluded from the scan
    includeIssueType:
        bestPractice: true       # Include best practice issues. Default: true
        needsReview: true        # Include issues that need manual review. Default: true
platforms:
  - platformName: android
    deviceName: Samsung Galaxy S22
    platformVersion: 12.0
    accessibility: true          # Device level accessibility flag. Testing will be conducted on this device combination
  - platformName: android
    deviceName: Google Pixel 6
    platformVersion: 13.0
    accessibility: false         # Device level accessibility flag. Testing will not be conducted on this device combination
...

...
services: [
  ['browserstack', {
    ...
    accessibility: true,             // Root level accessibility flag.
    accessibilityOptions: {
      wcagVersion: 'wcag21aaa',      // Default: wcag21aa
      scannerProcessingTimeout: 20,  // Default: 10
      includeTagsInTestingScope: ["accessibility", "workflow"], // Tags to include test cases
      excludeTagsInTestingScope: ["old"],                          // Tags to exclude test cases
      autoScanning: true,            // Disable automatic accessibility scans. Default: true
      screenReaderAutomationReport: true,  // Enable Screen Reader Report generation
      excludeRule: ["interactive-element-label", "non-text-contrast"],                  // List of rule IDs to be excluded from the scan
      excludeRuleCategory: ["touch-target-size"],         // List of rule categories to be excluded from the scan
      includeIssueType: {
        bestPractice: true           // Include best practice issues. Default: true
        needsReview: true            // Include issues that need manual review. Default: true
      }
    },
  }],
],
capabilities: [{
  'bstack:options': {
    deviceName: 'Samsung Galaxy S22',
    osVersion: "12.0",
    accessibility: true,  // Device level accessibility flag. Testing will be conducted on this device combination
  }
}, {
  'bstack:options': {
    deviceName: 'Google Pixel 6',
    osVersion: "13.0",
    accessibility: false, // Device level accessibility flag. Testing will not be conducted on this device combination
  }
}],
...

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