Audit Swiftui Accessibility

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name: audit-swiftui-accessibility description: Audit macOS SwiftUI accessibility for correctness, current APIs, and production conventions. Use for that domain or as part of a full audit.

Bundled resource root

Let <swiftui-plugin-root> be the absolute plugin directory two levels above this SKILL.md. Resolve that path before running commands or opening shared references. When these instructions say swiftui-ctx, invoke <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-ctx; do not assume the command is on PATH.

Audit SwiftUI Accessibility

AUDIT-ONLY · macOS-only · SwiftUI-only. Run this on a finished or in-progress macOS SwiftUI project to detect — and where certain, fix — every way the assistive-technology experience breaks: unlabeled icon controls, composites that read as fragments, custom controls with no value, color- or motion-only information, undescribed charts/canvases, missing traits, stranded VoiceOver focus, and hallucinated or legacy accessibility APIs. Findings are written to disk in the toolkit's unified schema; the mechanical defects (invented names, the legacy combinator) are fixed under the fix-safety protocol. This is never a from-scratch accessibility generator.

Accessibility modifiers are additive and invisible — the code compiles and looks right with none of them. The lint only locates candidates; whether a label is missing, wrong, or correctly present is an LLM judgment from READING the view. Be suspicious wherever a control has no visible text.

Boundary / seam note (stay in lane)

• AppKit NSAccessibility* is out of scope. If audited code drops to an NSViewRepresentable and sets NSAccessibility properties, note it in one line and defer to the future audit-appkit-accessibility — do not audit AppKit accessibility here.
• Keyboard @FocusState (Tab-key focus) belongs to audit-swiftui-controls-forms; this skill owns AccessibilityFocusState (VoiceOver focus). Different wrappers — keyboard = controls, VoiceOver = a11y.
• .help text is authored by audit-swiftui-controls-forms; this skill reuses that .help string as the .accessibilityLabel for an icon-only control. Keep both, cross-linked (cross_ref controls-forms).
• Dynamic-Type sizing is audit-swiftui-typography-text; Differentiate-Without-Color / WCAG contrast construction is audit-swiftui-appearance-color; Reduce-Motion construction is audit-swiftui-animation-motion — this skill owns only "the flag is ignored". Chart/Canvas descriptors are intentionally double-detected with charts / drawing-canvas (cross-link, don't collapse).

The four assistive-technology axes (the lens)

1. Perceivable. Every control conveys its identity without sight: a label (icon-only → .accessibilityLabel), a value (custom control → .accessibilityValue), and never information by color or motion alone.
2. Operable. Anything tappable carries an actionable trait (.isButton, .isToggle) and a sane VoiceOver focus order (AccessibilityFocusState, .accessibilitySortPriority).
3. Grouped. A composite (HStack/VStack of Text+Image that is one control) is collapsed with .accessibilityElement(children: .combine/.ignore); decorative imagery is .accessibilityHidden(true).
4. Represented. A Chart / Canvas exposes an .accessibilityChartDescriptor / .accessibilityRepresentation.

The element test: ask "what does VoiceOver announce when it lands here, and can the user act?" No answer → a finding. Full reasoning + the per-control coverage artifact: references/labels-and-traits.md.

Defect index (a11y-01 … a11y-12)

id · tell · severity · fix · open reference. Severities: hard-fail (invented name / build-or-floor break), warning (compiles but inaccessible), advisory (judgment / partial). auto = mechanical single-answer fix; flag = show the ✅, dev applies.

id	One-line tell	Sev	Fix	Reference
a11y-01	icon-only control (Image(systemName:)/Label icon) is the sole content, no .accessibilityLabel	warning	flag	labels-and-traits.md
a11y-02	purely-decorative Image not .accessibilityHidden(true) (VoiceOver clutter)	advisory	flag	labels-and-traits.md
a11y-03	custom composite (Text+Image as one control) with no .accessibilityElement(children:)	warning	flag	grouping-and-values.md
a11y-04	custom value control (hand-rolled gauge/slider/progress) with no .accessibilityValue	warning	flag	grouping-and-values.md
a11y-05	state conveyed by color only — no label/shape/symbol fallback (Differentiate-Without-Color)	warning	flag	perceptual-paths.md
a11y-06	animation/transition with no accessibilityReduceMotion branch (ignores the flag)	advisory	flag	perceptual-paths.md
a11y-07	Chart / Canvas with no a11y representation (accessibilityChartDescriptor/Representation)	warning	flag	perceptual-paths.md
a11y-08	.onTapGesture/.onLongPressGesture on a non-Button, no .isButton/.isToggle trait	warning	flag	labels-and-traits.md
a11y-09	AccessibilityFocusState declared-but-never-driven, or broken VoiceOver reading order	advisory	flag	grouping-and-values.md
a11y-10	INVENTED name — .voiceOverLabel/.a11yLabel/.accessibilityText(/.screenReaderLabel/.accessibilityName(	hard-fail	auto	accessibility-api-surface.md
a11y-11	LEGACY combined .accessibility(label:/hint:/addTraits:/value:) modifier	warning	auto	accessibility-api-surface.md
a11y-12	.isToggle trait (macOS 14) or closure-form label/value (macOS 15) ungated under a lower floor	warning	flag	labels-and-traits.md

.accessibility(label:) IS confirmed deprecated — Apple docs show macOS 10.15–26.5 Deprecated, replacement accessibilityLabel(_:) (the whole combined family — hint:/value:/hidden:/identifier:/addTraits:/ removeTraits:/sortPriority: — is deprecated likewise). The corpus deprecated:false was a false negative. Carry a11y-11 as a warning migration with source: macOS 10.15–26.5 Deprecated → accessibilityLabel(_:).

The real API, at a glance

Real (exist on macOS): accessibilityLabel(_:) (string StringProtocol macOS 11; string LocalizedStringResource macOS 13; closure macOS 15), accessibilityValue(_:) (macOS 11; closure form macOS 15), accessibilityHint(_:) (13), accessibilityHidden(_:) (11), accessibilityElement(children:) (10.15), accessibilityAddTraits(_:)/accessibilityRemoveTraits(_:) (11), accessibilityFocused(_:) + AccessibilityFocusState (12), accessibilitySortPriority(_:) (11), accessibilityChartDescriptor(_:) (12), accessibilityRepresentation(representation:) (12), @Environment(\.accessibilityReduceMotion) / \.accessibilityDifferentiateWithoutColor (10.15). AccessibilityTraits.isToggle is macOS 14.0+ — NOT 10.15; never assert it on a lower floor.

Hallucinated (never exist): .voiceOverLabel, .a11yLabel, .accessibilityText(…), .screenReaderLabel, .accessibilityName(…), .voiceOverHint. A swiftui-ctx lookup exit 3 corroborates each. Real-but-legacy: the combined .accessibility(label:/hint:/addTraits:/value:) modifier → split into the per-aspect modifiers.

Signatures, the full ❌→✅ rewrites, and the canonical shapes (via swiftui-ctx lookup): the reference files. Floor values are the reconciled truth in <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/floors-master.md and the canonical invented-name list in <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/hallucination-blacklist.md — read, never restate them.

✅ Correct — the grounded shape (real corpus, not invented)

The fix for an icon-only control (a11y-01) is the swiftui-ctx consensus shape accessibilityLabel(_) (100% of real uses, bash <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-ctx lookup accessibilityLabel --json) — a string label chained outside the visual node. Real shipping example, fetched live via swiftui-ctx file ex_e9a36e4789 --smart (jordanbaird/Ice, 28k★):

// github.com/jordanbaird/Ice …/Ice/UI/IceBar/IceBar.swift#L406
Image(nsImage: image)
    .contentShape(Rectangle())
    .overlay { IceBarItemClickView(item: item, leftClickAction: …, rightClickAction: …) }
    .accessibilityLabel(item.displayName)              // ← the icon now announces a real name
    .accessibilityAction(named: "left click", leftClickAction)
    .accessibilityAction(named: "right click", rightClickAction)

• Permalink: https://github.com/jordanbaird/Ice/blob/11edd39115f3f43a83ae114b5348df6a0e1741cf/Ice/UI/IceBar/IceBar.swift#L406
• Spec (Sosumi doc:): https://sosumi.ai/documentation/swiftui/view/accessibilitylabel (macOS 13.0+, string form).

Every finding's ## Correct is built this way — never a hand-written snippet. The label text stays flag-only (a judgment call); the shape is the corpus consensus above.

The 8-step audit workflow (execute verbatim)

1. ORIENT. tree / find the SwiftUI sources. Read the deployment target (project.pbxproj MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET, or Package.swift platforms:). It is load-bearing: a11y-12 fires only when the floor is below macOS 14 (.isToggle) or below 15 (closure-form label/value). Record it.
2. LOCATE. Run the shared hybrid lint runner: bash <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-lint.sh --skill audit-swiftui-accessibility --dir <sources> --json /tmp/a11y.json --sarif /tmp/a11y.sarif. It runs this skill's tier-1 grep tells (lint/grep-tells.tsv) + tier-2 structural ast-grep rules (lint/ast-grep/*.yml — the undescribed-Chart containment rule grep can't express), plus a per-file parse probe, and emits unified JSON + SARIF. Read its parse_warnings — a flagged file did not fully parse, so a structural miss can't masquerade as clean; READ those by hand. The runner only LOCATES. Engine + rule-file format + degradation: <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/lint-architecture.md.
3. READ. Open every located file in full — never pattern-match-and-patch blind. Whether a control already has a label, whether an Image is decorative, whether a composite is one control, and the focus order are all invisible to grep. Build a per-view inventory: each control → its announced label + value + trait + (for composites) its grouping + (for charts/motion) its representation/Reduce path.
4. DETECT. Apply the index. Assign each candidate a confidence; report a finding only at 100% certainty (e.g. an invented name, an icon-only Button with provably no label, an .isToggle under a <14 floor). An absence (no label) is a finding only after you have read the whole view and confirmed it.
5. VERIFY. For anything ≤ ~70% confidence (a symbol you're unsure exists, a floor you can't place, a deprecation claim), run both evidence sources. (a) Practice — bash <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-ctx lookup <api> --json (and swiftui-ctx deprecated <api> for a11y-11): read its consensus (the canonical shape), deprecated+replacement, recommended permalink, introduced_macos, and co_occurs_with; a lookup exit 3 (with a did-you-mean suggestion) corroborates an a11y-10 hallucination — no shipping Mac app uses the symbol. (b) Spec — confirm via Sosumi: curl -sSL https://sosumi.ai/<apple-path> using references/source-directory.md for the path and <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/sosumi-reference.md for the protocol (never WebFetch developer.apple.com). Cross-check introduced_macos against floors-master.md and the Sosumi doc: floor. The CLI contract is <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/swiftui-ctx-reference.md. Promote with the citation or discard.
6. REPORT. Write each confirmed finding (output contract below). One finding per file, zero-padded, ordered. Emit cross_ref on the shared seams (a11y-05 → appearance-color, a11y-06 → animation-motion, a11y-07 → charts/drawing-canvas, a11y-01/08 → controls-forms .help). Write the run's _index.md.
7. FIX. Apply corrections under the fix-safety protocol (<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/fix-safety-protocol.md): clean-tree gate, findings-first, only fix_mode: auto (a11y-10 invented-name swap, a11y-11 legacy-combinator split), one conventional commit per finding citing its rule_id, never weaken a check. The ✅ "Correct" is not a hand-written snippet — it is the swiftui-ctx consensus shape put in ## Correct, backed by a real macOS example fetched with bash <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-ctx file <recommended.id> --smart whose GitHub permalink (plus the Sosumi doc:) goes in ## Source. The label text itself (a judgment call) stays flag-only — never auto-invent a string. Leave flag-only findings open with that ✅ in ## Correct.
8. DOUBLE-CHECK. Re-grep each fixed file to confirm the tell no longer matches; record the evidence in ## Fix applied?. Re-confirm every citation still resolves and its floor still matches. If a fix introduced a new tell (e.g. an added .isToggle now needs a macOS-14 gate), loop that file back to DETECT.

Confidence gating (load-bearing)

Report a finding only at 100% certainty. An accessibility absence (missing label/value/trait) is a finding only after reading the whole view and confirming nothing supplies it — a .help, an .accessibilityLabel on a parent, or a native control's built-in semantics can all already cover it. Anything ≤ ~70% goes to VERIFY (step 5). Auto-fix only the mechanical set (a11y-10/11); the label/value/trait content is always fix_mode: flag-only.

Output contract

Inherits the toolkit's unified contract (full schema + body sections + frontmatter keys: <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/finding-schema.md — do not restate it). Specialized for this domain:

• Findings: swiftui-audits/accessibility/<context>/NN-slug.md (one finding per file, zero-padded, ordered). Per-run index: swiftui-audits/accessibility/_index.md.
• domain: accessibility. Frontmatter is the canonical schema; fix_mode is auto for a11y-10/11, else flag-only. availability reads from floors-master.md. source is an Apple URL + access date (via Sosumi) or verify against Xcode 26 SDK. Additive field a11y_axis records the broken axis — perceivable | operable | grouped | represented — so a run can be read by assistive-tech failure mode.

Starter <context> folders (file here when…):

<context>	File a finding here when…
missing-label/	an icon-only control has no announced label, or a decorative image isn't hidden (a11y-01, a11y-02)
missing-value/	a custom value control announces no value (a11y-04)
grouping/	a composite reads as fragments — no accessibilityElement(children:) (a11y-03)
traits-and-focus/	a tappable lacks an actionable trait, or VoiceOver focus order is broken (a11y-08, a11y-09)
color-and-motion/	information is color-only or motion ignores Reduce Motion (a11y-05, a11y-06)
chart-canvas-representation/	a Chart/Canvas is undescribed to VoiceOver (a11y-07)
hallucinated-api/	a name doesn't exist, or the legacy combined modifier is used (a11y-10, a11y-11)
availability-gating/	.isToggle / closure-form label/value used ungated under a lower floor (a11y-12)

New-folder rule: if a finding does not fit any existing context folder, create a new one under swiftui-audits/accessibility/ with a lowercase-hyphen slug naming the sub-category, and note it in the run's _index.md. Prefer an existing folder when the fit is reasonable; consistency across runs is a hard requirement. Two runs over the same code produce structurally identical trees.

Go-beyond artifact (optional): swiftui-audits/accessibility/_coverage-map.md listing every interactive view with its announced label/value/trait and a per-axis coverage score — see references/labels-and-traits.md.

Reference routing

File	Open when
references/accessibility-api-surface.md	a name/signature/existence question — the real allow-list, the invented ❌→✅, the legacy-combinator split (a11y-10/11)
references/labels-and-traits.md	icon-only labels, decorative hiding, missing traits, .isToggle/closure-form gating, the coverage map (a11y-01/02/08/12)
references/grouping-and-values.md	composite grouping, custom-control values, VoiceOver focus order (a11y-03/04/09)
references/perceptual-paths.md	color-only state, Reduce-Motion path, Chart/Canvas representation (a11y-05/06/07)
references/source-directory.md	step VERIFY — the Apple/WWDC/practitioner source map fetched via Sosumi
lint/grep-tells.tsv + lint/ast-grep/*.yml	step LOCATE — this skill's declarative lint rule set fed to the shared runner (tier-1 grep tells + tier-2 structural ast-grep); edit here to tune detection

Shared toolkit references (point in, never restate):

Shared file	For
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/floors-master.md	every floor/availability value (the reconciled truth — incl. .isToggle=macOS 14, closure forms=15)
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/hallucination-blacklist.md	the canonical invented-name list
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/macos-arm-gating.md	the macOS-arm gating rule (a11y-12 floor gate)
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/finding-schema.md	the unified finding schema + frontmatter keys + the a11y_axis additive field
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/fix-safety-protocol.md	the fix-safety protocol (step 7)
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/sosumi-reference.md	the Apple-doc spec fetch protocol (step 5 VERIFY)
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/swiftui-ctx-reference.md	the practice-corpus CLI contract — lookup/deprecated/file --smart for the consensus shape + permalinked example (steps 5 VERIFY · 7 FIX)
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/cross-ref-graph.md	seam ownership + cross_ref targets (controls-forms, appearance-color, animation-motion, charts, drawing-canvas)

Detection accelerator

bash <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-lint.sh --skill audit-swiftui-accessibility --dir <files-or-dir> [--json out.json] [--sarif out.sarif] — the toolkit's one shared hybrid lint engine, fed this skill's declarative rules: tier-1 grep tells (lint/grep-tells.tsv, a11y-01/02/03/04/05/06/07/08/09/10/11/12)

• tier-2 ast-grep structural rules (lint/ast-grep/*.yml — a11y-07 Chart-no-descriptor — the containment/absence form grep cannot express; a11y-01 stays grep-tier because a correct label chains outside the Button node, so a containment rule would false-positive). It runs a per-file parse probe (surfaces "did not fully parse" so a structural miss can't look clean), emits unified JSON + SARIF, exits 2 on any hard-fail (a11y-10/12) for a CI gate, and degrades to grep-only with a notice if ast-grep is unreachable (npx --package @ast-grep/cli ast-grep; faster: brew install ast-grep). It only LOCATES — accessibility is additive and invisible, so always READ each hit in full before reporting (step 3). The thin scripts/a11y-lint.sh is a pointer to this runner. Engine + rule-file format + JSON/SARIF shape + safety rails: <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/lint-architecture.md.