/kb-ci-integration

name: kb-ci-integration
description: Reference data, not a reviewer. CI/CD accessibility pipeline patterns with axe-core CLI, SARIF output, PR annotations, baseline management, and multi-platform CI templates.
license: MIT
disable-model-invocation: true
user-invocable: false
metadata:
  tier: reference
  domain: cross-cutting
  output: none
  effort: low
  title: Ci Integration

Skill: CI Integration

**Domain:** CI/CD accessibility pipeline configuration **Agents that use this skill:** `ci-accessibility`, `web-accessibility-wizard`, `accessibility-lead`

---

Purpose

Patterns, templates, and reference data for integrating automated accessibility scanning into CI/CD pipelines. Covers axe-core CLI, Lighthouse CI, SARIF output, baseline management, and multi-platform configuration.

---

axe-core CLI Reference

Installation

npm install --save-dev @axe-core/cli

WCAG 2.2 AA Tag Set

npx axe <url> --tags wcag2a,wcag2aa,wcag21a,wcag21aa,wcag22aa

Output Formats

Each flag, with its output.

| Flag | Output | |------|--------| | `--reporter json` | JSON results to stdout | | `--reporter sarif` | SARIF format for code scanning | | `--reporter html` | Human-readable HTML report | | `--save <file>` | Save results to file |

Exit Codes

Each code, with its meaning.

| Code | Meaning | |------|---------| | 0 | No violations found | | 1 | Violations found | | 2 | Error running scan |

---

Baseline Pattern

Purpose

Without a baseline, every legacy violation fails CI, making adoption impossible on brownfield apps. With a baseline, CI gates only prevent regressions.

Baseline File Schema (`axe-baseline.json`)

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "timestamp": "2026-03-22T00:00:00Z",
  "tool": "@axe-core/cli",
  "tags": "wcag2a,wcag2aa,wcag21a,wcag21aa,wcag22aa",
  "violations": {
    "color-contrast": { "count": 12, "pages": ["index.html", "about.html"] },
    "image-alt": { "count": 3, "pages": ["gallery.html"] },
    "label": { "count": 5, "pages": ["contact.html", "signup.html"] }
  },
  "total": 20
}

Comparison Logic

current_violations = run_axe_scan()
baseline = load("axe-baseline.json")

new_violations = current_violations - baseline
if new_violations.count > 0:
    FAIL PR — "N new accessibility violations introduced"
else:
    PASS — "No new violations (M existing in baseline)"

---

GitHub Actions Template

name: Accessibility Check
on:
  pull_request:
    paths: ['**/*.html', '**/*.jsx', '**/*.tsx', '**/*.vue', '**/*.svelte']

jobs:
  a11y:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with: { node-version: 22 }
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npx axe $(git diff --name-only HEAD~1 --diff-filter=ACMR -- '*.html' | tr '\n' ' ') --tags wcag2a,wcag2aa,wcag21a,wcag21aa,wcag22aa --reporter json --save results.json
      - name: Check results
        run: |
          violations=$(jq '[.[].violations[]] | length' results.json)
          echo "Found $violations violations"
          if [ "$violations" -gt 0 ]; then exit 1; fi

---

SARIF Integration

SARIF (Static Analysis Results Interchange Format) enables inline annotations in GitHub PR diffs.

Upload Step

- uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3
  with:
    sarif_file: results.sarif
    category: accessibility

Benefits

• Violations appear as inline annotations on the exact lines in the PR diff
• Results visible in the Security → Code Scanning tab
• Tracks violation trends over time
• Supports dismissal workflow for false positives

---

Gating Strategies

Each strategy, with blocks on and best for.

| Strategy | Blocks On | Best For | |----------|-----------|----------| | **Strict** | Any violation (all severities) | New greenfield projects | | **Standard** | Critical + Serious only | Active projects with good a11y baseline | | **Baseline** | New violations only (regression) | Brownfield adoption, legacy codebases | | **Warning** | Never blocks, comments only | Awareness phase, gradual adoption |

---

Multi-Platform Templates

Azure DevOps

trigger:
  paths:
    include: ['**/*.html', '**/*.jsx', '**/*.tsx']

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

steps:
  - task: NodeTool@0
    inputs: { versionSpec: '22.x' }
  - script: npm ci && npx axe $(Build.SourcesDirectory)/index.html --tags wcag2a,wcag2aa
    displayName: 'Accessibility Scan'

GitLab CI

accessibility:
  image: node:22
  script:
    - npm ci
    - npx axe $CI_PROJECT_DIR/index.html --tags wcag2a,wcag2aa
  only:
    changes: ['**/*.html', '**/*.jsx', '**/*.tsx']

---

Severity Mapping

Each axe-core impact, with its CI priority and action.

| axe-core Impact | CI Priority | Action | |----------------|-------------|--------| | critical | p1-blocker | Must block merge | | serious | p2-high | Should block merge | | moderate | p3-medium | Warn in PR comment | | minor | p4-low | Info only |