docs / a11y-audit

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base /a11y-audit/v16 endpoints

post/a11y-audit/v1/audit_url3 credits

Render a URL in headless Chromium and run a full axe-core WCAG audit → score, severity summary, per-issue evidence + fix-hints, and an honest manual-review list.

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
url	required	—	Page URL to audit (http/https; bare domains get https:// prefixed). Private/internal/metadata targets are SSRF-blocked on every hop.
standard = wcag21aa	optional	wcag2a · wcag2aa · wcag21a · wcag21aa · wcag22aa · section508 · best-practice	Conformance standard to test against (selects the axe rule tag set).
viewport = desktop	optional	desktop · mobile · tablet	Viewport to render at before auditing (responsive a11y differs by breakpoint).
include_best_practice = false	optional	—	Add axe 'best-practice' rules on top of the chosen WCAG standard (usability checks beyond strict conformance).
include_passes = false	optional	—	Also return the rules that PASSED (passes[]) — useful for evidence reports. Default false (smaller response).
include_incomplete = true	optional	—	Return axe 'incomplete' results — checks that need human review (folded into needs_review). Default true.
include_fix_hints = true	optional	—	Attach a curated fix_hint to each issue (default true).
rules	optional	—	Restrict the audit to these axe rule ids (comma-separated or JSON array). Empty = all rules for the standard.
exclude_rules	optional	—	Disable these axe rule ids for the run (comma-separated or array).
include_selectors	optional	—	Only audit elements inside these CSS selectors (axe context include).
exclude_selectors	optional	—	Skip elements matching these CSS selectors (axe context exclude — drop third-party widgets you don't control).
max_issues = 0	optional	0–1000	Cap the number of returned issues (0 = no cap). Summary counts are always complete.
wait_until = load	optional	load · domcontentloaded · networkidle · commit	Navigation wait condition before auditing.
wait_selector	optional	—	Additionally wait until this CSS selector is visible (15s budget) — the reliable signal for heavy SPAs.
delay_ms = 0	optional	0–5000	Extra settle delay after load before auditing, 0-5000ms.
locale	optional	—	Browser locale (Accept-Language + Intl), e.g. en-US, de-DE, ar-EG.
user_agent	optional	—	Override the browser User-Agent.
headers	optional	—	Extra request headers (JSON object). Cookie/Authorization are stripped (no-login content policy).
fresh = false	optional	—	Bypass the audit cache and force a fresh render+audit.

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post/a11y-audit/v1/audit_html2 credits

Audit raw HTML you supply (CI / staging use-case) — no fetch by default (fully offline, deterministic). Same axe-core engine + contract as audit_url.

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
html	required	—	Raw HTML document/fragment to audit (≤4MB). Fragments are wrapped in a minimal document. The CI / staging path — no fetch unless allow_remote_resources=true.
allow_remote_resources = false	optional	—	Let the supplied HTML load remote css/img/fonts (SSRF-guarded). Default false = fully offline render (deterministic CI mode).
base_url	optional	—	Base URL for relative asset paths in the supplied HTML (injected as <base href>); SSRF-validated.
standard = wcag21aa	optional	wcag2a · wcag2aa · wcag21a · wcag21aa · wcag22aa · section508 · best-practice	Conformance standard to test against (selects the axe rule tag set).
viewport = desktop	optional	desktop · mobile · tablet	Viewport to render at before auditing (responsive a11y differs by breakpoint).
include_best_practice = false	optional	—	Add axe 'best-practice' rules on top of the chosen WCAG standard (usability checks beyond strict conformance).
include_passes = false	optional	—	Also return the rules that PASSED (passes[]) — useful for evidence reports. Default false (smaller response).
include_incomplete = true	optional	—	Return axe 'incomplete' results — checks that need human review (folded into needs_review). Default true.
include_fix_hints = true	optional	—	Attach a curated fix_hint to each issue (default true).
rules	optional	—	Restrict the audit to these axe rule ids (comma-separated or JSON array). Empty = all rules for the standard.
exclude_rules	optional	—	Disable these axe rule ids for the run (comma-separated or array).
include_selectors	optional	—	Only audit elements inside these CSS selectors (axe context include).
exclude_selectors	optional	—	Skip elements matching these CSS selectors (axe context exclude — drop third-party widgets you don't control).
max_issues = 0	optional	0–1000	Cap the number of returned issues (0 = no cap). Summary counts are always complete.
wait_until = load	optional	load · domcontentloaded · networkidle · commit	Navigation wait condition before auditing.
wait_selector	optional	—	Additionally wait until this CSS selector is visible (15s budget) — the reliable signal for heavy SPAs.
delay_ms = 0	optional	0–5000	Extra settle delay after load before auditing, 0-5000ms.
locale	optional	—	Browser locale (Accept-Language + Intl), e.g. en-US, de-DE, ar-EG.
user_agent	optional	—	Override the browser User-Agent.
headers	optional	—	Extra request headers (JSON object). Cookie/Authorization are stripped (no-login content policy).

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post/a11y-audit/v1/compare1 credit

Diff two audit snapshots (baseline vs current) → fixed[], new[], regressed nodes and score_delta. The CI-gate primitive: did this deploy improve or regress a11y?

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
baseline	required	—	A previous audit's data object (or its issues[] / summary). Pass the full data from an earlier audit_url/audit_html.
current	required	—	The newer audit's data object to compare against baseline.

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post/a11y-audit/v1/explain_issuefree

Explain an axe rule id (no browser): what it means, which WCAG criteria it maps to, why it matters, who it affects, and a concrete fix template. Offline + instant.

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
issue_id	required	—	An axe rule id (e.g. color-contrast, image-alt, label) to explain.
html_snippet	optional	—	Optional offending HTML snippet — echoed back with the explanation for context.

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post/a11y-audit/v1/audit_interactive5 credits

Run interaction steps (click/hover/fill/press/scroll/wait) on a single page, THEN audit the resulting state — accessibility of opened menus, modals, expanded forms. One page load, no extra browser run.

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
url	required	—	Page URL to audit (http/https; bare domains get https:// prefixed). Private/internal/metadata targets are SSRF-blocked on every hop.
actions	required	—	Ordered interaction steps to run before auditing (≤12). Each step: {type: click\|hover\|fill\|press\|wait\|scroll, selector?, value?, ms?}. Audits the page in the resulting state (open menu/modal/form).
standard = wcag21aa	optional	wcag2a · wcag2aa · wcag21a · wcag21aa · wcag22aa · section508 · best-practice	Conformance standard to test against (selects the axe rule tag set).
viewport = desktop	optional	desktop · mobile · tablet	Viewport to render at before auditing (responsive a11y differs by breakpoint).
include_best_practice = false	optional	—	Add axe 'best-practice' rules on top of the chosen WCAG standard (usability checks beyond strict conformance).
include_passes = false	optional	—	Also return the rules that PASSED (passes[]) — useful for evidence reports. Default false (smaller response).
include_incomplete = true	optional	—	Return axe 'incomplete' results — checks that need human review (folded into needs_review). Default true.
include_fix_hints = true	optional	—	Attach a curated fix_hint to each issue (default true).
rules	optional	—	Restrict the audit to these axe rule ids (comma-separated or JSON array). Empty = all rules for the standard.
exclude_rules	optional	—	Disable these axe rule ids for the run (comma-separated or array).
include_selectors	optional	—	Only audit elements inside these CSS selectors (axe context include).
exclude_selectors	optional	—	Skip elements matching these CSS selectors (axe context exclude — drop third-party widgets you don't control).
max_issues = 0	optional	0–1000	Cap the number of returned issues (0 = no cap). Summary counts are always complete.
wait_until = load	optional	load · domcontentloaded · networkidle · commit	Navigation wait condition before auditing.
wait_selector	optional	—	Additionally wait until this CSS selector is visible (15s budget) — the reliable signal for heavy SPAs.
delay_ms = 0	optional	0–5000	Extra settle delay after load before auditing, 0-5000ms.
locale	optional	—	Browser locale (Accept-Language + Intl), e.g. en-US, de-DE, ar-EG.
user_agent	optional	—	Override the browser User-Agent.
headers	optional	—	Extra request headers (JSON object). Cookie/Authorization are stripped (no-login content policy).
fresh = false	optional	—	Bypass the audit cache and force a fresh render+audit.

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post/a11y-audit/v1/batch3 credits

Audit up to 5 URLs in one call (queued through the render slots); per-URL ok/error + score so one bad URL never sinks the batch.

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
urls	required	—	Up to 5 URLs (JSON array or comma-separated). Audited through the queue; per-URL ok/error in results[].
standard = wcag21aa	optional	wcag2a · wcag2aa · wcag21a · wcag21aa · wcag22aa · section508 · best-practice	Conformance standard to test against (selects the axe rule tag set).
viewport = desktop	optional	desktop · mobile · tablet	Viewport to render at before auditing (responsive a11y differs by breakpoint).
include_best_practice = false	optional	—	Add axe 'best-practice' rules on top of the chosen WCAG standard (usability checks beyond strict conformance).
include_passes = false	optional	—	Also return the rules that PASSED (passes[]) — useful for evidence reports. Default false (smaller response).
include_incomplete = true	optional	—	Return axe 'incomplete' results — checks that need human review (folded into needs_review). Default true.
include_fix_hints = true	optional	—	Attach a curated fix_hint to each issue (default true).
rules	optional	—	Restrict the audit to these axe rule ids (comma-separated or JSON array). Empty = all rules for the standard.
exclude_rules	optional	—	Disable these axe rule ids for the run (comma-separated or array).
include_selectors	optional	—	Only audit elements inside these CSS selectors (axe context include).
exclude_selectors	optional	—	Skip elements matching these CSS selectors (axe context exclude — drop third-party widgets you don't control).
max_issues = 0	optional	0–1000	Cap the number of returned issues (0 = no cap). Summary counts are always complete.
wait_until = load	optional	load · domcontentloaded · networkidle · commit	Navigation wait condition before auditing.
wait_selector	optional	—	Additionally wait until this CSS selector is visible (15s budget) — the reliable signal for heavy SPAs.
delay_ms = 0	optional	0–5000	Extra settle delay after load before auditing, 0-5000ms.
locale	optional	—	Browser locale (Accept-Language + Intl), e.g. en-US, de-DE, ar-EG.
user_agent	optional	—	Override the browser User-Agent.
headers	optional	—	Extra request headers (JSON object). Cookie/Authorization are stripped (no-login content policy).
fresh = false	optional	—	Bypass the audit cache and force a fresh render+audit.

Try in playground →

Example request · audit_url

curl -X POST https://api.reefapi.com/a11y-audit/v1/audit_url \
  -H "x-api-key: $REEF_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://example.com"}'

Response shape

{
  "ok": true,
  "data": { /* the result */ },
  "meta": {
    "latency_ms": 240,
    "record_count": 12,
    "completeness_pct": 100
  },
  "error": null
}