Accessibility - Apsara

Apsara is built with accessibility as a core principle. All components are designed to be keyboard navigable, screen reader friendly, and WCAG compliant.

Foundation: Radix UI primitives

Apsara components are built on top of Radix UI primitives, which provide:

ARIA compliance - Proper ARIA attributes and roles
Keyboard navigation - Full keyboard support out of the box
Focus management - Smart focus handling for complex components
Screen reader support - Semantic HTML and announcements

Radix UI handles the complex accessibility patterns so you can focus on building your application.

ARIA attributes

All interactive components include appropriate ARIA attributes:

Example: Button states

import { Button } from "@raystack/apsara";

function DeleteButton() {
  const [isDeleting, setIsDeleting] = useState(false);
  
  return (
    <Button
      onClick={handleDelete}
      disabled={isDeleting}
      aria-label="Delete item"
      aria-busy={isDeleting}
    >
      Delete
    </Button>
  );
}

Example: Accessible icons

Provide text alternatives for icon-only buttons:

import { IconButton } from "@raystack/apsara";
import { TrashIcon } from "@radix-ui/react-icons";

function Actions() {
  return (
    <IconButton aria-label="Delete item">
      <TrashIcon />
    </IconButton>
  );
}

Example: Form controls

Properly associate labels with form inputs:

import { Checkbox, Label } from "@raystack/apsara";

function Settings() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Checkbox id="notifications" />
      <Label htmlFor="notifications">
        Enable email notifications
      </Label>
    </div>
  );
}

Apsara components support standard keyboard interactions:

Interactive elements

Key

Move focus to the next interactive element

Key

Move focus to the previous interactive element

Key

Activate buttons, links, and submit forms

Key

Activate buttons and toggle checkboxes

Key

Close dialogs, popovers, and dropdowns

Component-specific shortcuts

Dialogs

Esc - Close dialog
Focus is trapped within the dialog
Focus returns to trigger element on close

Tabs

← / → - Navigate between tabs
Home / End - Jump to first/last tab
Tab - Move focus into tab panel

Radio groups

↓ / ↑ - Select next/previous option
Space - Select focused option

Accordion

Space / Enter - Toggle panel
↓ / ↑ - Navigate between headers
Home / End - Jump to first/last header

Focus management

Components handle focus states properly with visible indicators:

button.module.css

.button:focus-visible {
  outline: 1px solid var(--rs-color-border-accent-emphasis);
}

.button:focus {
  outline: none;
}

This pattern:

Shows focus indicator for keyboard navigation (:focus-visible)
Hides focus indicator for mouse clicks (:focus)
Uses theme-aware colors for the outline

Never remove focus indicators without providing an alternative visual cue. Focus indicators are essential for keyboard navigation.

Focus trap

Modal components like Dialog automatically trap focus:

import { Dialog } from "@raystack/apsara";

function ConfirmDialog() {
  return (
    <Dialog>
      <Dialog.Trigger>Delete Account</Dialog.Trigger>
      <Dialog.Content>
        {/* Focus is trapped here - Tab only cycles through these elements */}
        <Dialog.Title>Are you sure?</Dialog.Title>
        <Dialog.Description>
          This action cannot be undone.
        </Dialog.Description>
        <Dialog.Close>Cancel</Dialog.Close>
        <Button variant="danger">Delete</Button>
      </Dialog.Content>
    </Dialog>
  );
}

Use the .sr-only class for screen reader-only content:

import { Button } from "@raystack/apsara";
import { MagnifyingGlassIcon } from "@radix-ui/react-icons";

function SearchButton() {
  return (
    <Button>
      <MagnifyingGlassIcon aria-hidden="true" />
      <span className="sr-only">Search</span>
    </Button>
  );
}

The .sr-only utility class (from badge.module.css):

.sr-only {
  position: absolute;
  width: 1px;
  height: 1px;
  padding: 0;
  margin: -1px;
  overflow: hidden;
  clip: rect(0, 0, 0, 0);
  white-space: nowrap;
  border: 0;
}

Live regions

Announce dynamic content changes:

function NotificationList() {
  const [notifications, setNotifications] = useState([]);
  
  return (
    <div>
      <div aria-live="polite" aria-atomic="true" className="sr-only">
        {notifications.length} new notifications
      </div>
      <ul>
        {notifications.map(n => (
          <li key={n.id}>{n.message}</li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
}

Semantic HTML

Apsara components use semantic HTML elements:

// Button component renders <button>
<Button>Click me</Button>
// → <button class="button">Click me</button>

// Navigation uses proper list structure
<Breadcrumb>
  <Breadcrumb.Item>Home</Breadcrumb.Item>
  <Breadcrumb.Item>Docs</Breadcrumb.Item>
</Breadcrumb>
// → <nav aria-label="Breadcrumb"><ol>...</ol></nav>

Color contrast

Apsara’s default themes meet WCAG AA standards (4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text):

/* Light theme - high contrast */
:root {
  --foreground-base: #3c4347;      /* Text */
  --background-base: #fbfcfd;       /* Background */
  /* Contrast ratio: ~12:1 */
}

/* Dark theme - high contrast */
html[data-theme="dark"] {
  --foreground-base: #ecedee;      /* Text */
  --background-base: #151718;       /* Background */
  /* Contrast ratio: ~14:1 */
}

When customizing colors, use a contrast checker to ensure WCAG compliance:

AA standard: 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text
AAA standard: 7:1 for normal text, 4.5:1 for large text

Color variants

Semantic color variants maintain accessibility:

import { Badge } from "@raystack/apsara";

function StatusBadge({ status }) {
  return (
    <>
      <Badge variant="success">Active</Badge>
      {/* Green background with sufficient contrast */}
      
      <Badge variant="danger">Error</Badge>
      {/* Red background with sufficient contrast */}
      
      <Badge variant="neutral">Pending</Badge>
      {/* Gray background with sufficient contrast */}
    </>
  );
}

Motion and animations

Respect user’s motion preferences:

.button {
  transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .button {
    transition: none;
  }
}

The ThemeProvider supports disabling transitions:

import { ThemeProvider } from "@raystack/apsara";

function App() {
  return (
    <ThemeProvider disableTransitionOnChange>
      <YourApp />
    </ThemeProvider>
  );
}

Form accessibility

Validation and errors

Associate error messages with form fields:

import { Input, Text } from "@raystack/apsara";

function EmailInput() {
  const [error, setError] = useState("");
  
  return (
    <div>
      <Label htmlFor="email">Email</Label>
      <Input
        id="email"
        type="email"
        aria-invalid={!!error}
        aria-describedby={error ? "email-error" : undefined}
      />
      {error && (
        <Text id="email-error" role="alert">
          {error}
        </Text>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

Required fields

Indicate required fields clearly:

function SignupForm() {
  return (
    <form>
      <Label htmlFor="username">
        Username <span aria-label="required">*</span>
      </Label>
      <Input id="username" required aria-required="true" />
    </form>
  );
}

Testing accessibility

Automated testing

Use tools like axe or jest-axe:

import { render } from "@testing-library/react";
import { axe, toHaveNoViolations } from "jest-axe";
import { Button } from "@raystack/apsara";

expect.extend(toHaveNoViolations);

test("Button has no accessibility violations", async () => {
  const { container } = render(<Button>Click me</Button>);
  const results = await axe(container);
  expect(results).toHaveNoViolations();
});

Manual testing

Test with real assistive technologies:

Keyboard navigation - Navigate your app using only Tab, Enter, Space, and Arrow keys
Screen readers - Test with NVDA (Windows), JAWS (Windows), or VoiceOver (macOS/iOS)
Zoom - Test at 200% zoom to ensure content remains readable
High contrast mode - Test with Windows High Contrast or browser extensions

Best practices

Use semantic HTML

Choose the right HTML element for the job (button vs div, nav vs div, etc.)

Provide text alternatives

Add alt text for images and aria-label for icon buttons

Maintain focus order

Ensure tab order follows visual layout

Test with users

Include people with disabilities in user testing

Document shortcuts

List keyboard shortcuts in your app’s help section

Avoid ARIA overuse

Use native HTML features first, ARIA as enhancement

Resources

Radix UI

Learn about the accessible primitives Apsara is built on

WCAG Guidelines

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines reference

ARIA Authoring Practices

Design patterns and widgets using ARIA

WebAIM

Accessibility training and resources

Common patterns

Skip links

Add skip links for keyboard users:

function Layout() {
  return (
    <>
      <a href="#main-content" className="sr-only sr-only-focusable">
        Skip to main content
      </a>
      <nav>{/* Navigation */}</nav>
      <main id="main-content">
        {/* Main content */}
      </main>
    </>
  );
}

.sr-only-focusable:focus {
  position: static;
  width: auto;
  height: auto;
  margin: 0;
  overflow: visible;
  clip: auto;
}

Loading states

Announce loading states to screen readers:

import { Button } from "@raystack/apsara";

function SubmitButton() {
  const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(false);
  
  return (
    <Button
      loading={isLoading}
      aria-live="polite"
      aria-busy={isLoading}
    >
      {isLoading ? "Saving..." : "Save"}
    </Button>
  );
}

Data tables

Use proper table markup:

import { Table } from "@raystack/apsara";

function UserTable() {
  return (
    <Table>
      <caption className="sr-only">List of users</caption>
      <thead>
        <tr>
          <th scope="col">Name</th>
          <th scope="col">Email</th>
          <th scope="col">Role</th>
        </tr>
      </thead>
      <tbody>
        {/* Table rows */}
      </tbody>
    </Table>
  );
}

Styling

Learn about focus states and visual indicators

Dark mode

Ensure accessibility in both light and dark themes

​Foundation: Radix UI primitives

​ARIA attributes

​Example: Button states

​Example: Accessible icons

​Example: Form controls

​Keyboard navigation

​Interactive elements

​Component-specific shortcuts

​Focus management

​Focus trap

​Screen reader support

​Visually hidden text

​Live regions

​Semantic HTML

​Color contrast

​Color variants

​Motion and animations

​Form accessibility

​Validation and errors

​Required fields

​Testing accessibility

​Automated testing

​Manual testing

​Best practices

Use semantic HTML

Provide text alternatives

Maintain focus order

Test with users

Document shortcuts

Avoid ARIA overuse

​Resources

Radix UI

WCAG Guidelines

ARIA Authoring Practices

WebAIM

​Common patterns

​Skip links

​Loading states

​Data tables

​Related resources

Styling

Dark mode

Foundation: Radix UI primitives

ARIA attributes

Example: Button states

Example: Accessible icons

Example: Form controls

Keyboard navigation

Interactive elements

Component-specific shortcuts

Focus management

Focus trap

Screen reader support

Visually hidden text

Live regions

Semantic HTML

Color contrast

Color variants

Motion and animations

Form accessibility

Validation and errors

Required fields

Testing accessibility

Automated testing

Manual testing

Best practices

Resources

Common patterns

Skip links

Loading states

Data tables

Related resources