Freedom251 › Accessibility Testing Software
cypress-axe
What cypress-axe is
cypress-axe is a free, MIT-licensed npm package for running axe-core accessibility checks in Cypress. It supports automated WCAG 2.0 scans and CI/CD integration, but does not provide manual review tools, mobile testing, a browser extension, or remediation guidance. Installation adds cypress-axe, axe-core, and Cypress as development dependencies. The cy.injectAxe command places axe-core in the page after cy.visit and before cy.checkA11y. cy.configureAxe sets axe data and can register additional rules. cy.checkA11y analyzes the full document or a selected DOM area, accepts axe.run options, and can inspect issues that appear after interactions. Checks can filter minor, moderate, serious, or critical violations and retry at a chosen interval for dynamic content. Violations fail tests by default; skipFailures logs them instead. A callback can send violations to custom side effects such as Cypress task output. The README includes TypeScript guidance and separate instructions for Cypress 10 or later and Cypress 9. Peer dependencies cover axe-core 3 or 4 and Cypress 10 through 16.
Who it suits
cypress-axe suits Cypress developers automating accessibility checks in web projects and CI pipelines. It is intended for teams comfortable installing npm development dependencies.
What it does well
- Automates WCAG 2.0 checks
- Supports document or scoped DOM analysis
- Filters violations by impact
- Retries checks for dynamic content
- MIT-licensed and free
What to know first
- No manual review tools
- No mobile testing support
- No remediation guidance
- Requires Cypress and axe-core installation
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| cypress-axe | MIT-licensed package · install from npm | Free |
As github.com lists them, read 11 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
cypress-axe adds configurable axe-core accessibility assertions to Cypress tests, including scoped checks, impact filters, retries, and callbacks. Teams needing manual review or remediation guidance will need other tools.
Facts from cypress-axe's own pages
- Accessibility checks
- cy.checkA11y runs axe against the document when called and can check issues that appear after user interactions. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Automated scans
- Yes · github.com, 23 Sept 2026
- Browser extension
- No · github.com, 23 Sept 2026
- Check accessibility
- The cy.checkA11y command runs axe against the document when called and can also analyze a specified DOM context. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- CI/CD integration
- Yes · github.com, 23 Sept 2026
- Compatibility
- The package metadata declares peer dependencies axe-core ^3 or ^4 and Cypress versions ^10 through ^16. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Configuration
- cy.configureAxe configures the data format and can add rules that must be registered with the library to execute. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Configure checks
- The cy.configureAxe command configures axe data and can add rules registered with the library. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Creators and maintainers
- The README says Andy Van Slaars created the project and Artem Sapegin maintains it. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Custom callbacks
- An optional violation callback receives included violations and can be used for custom side effects such as terminal output. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Custom output
- A violation callback can receive violations for custom side effects, including terminal output using Cypress tasks. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Cypress compatibility
- The README gives installation instructions for Cypress 10 and above, and for Cypress 9 using cypress-axe 0.x.x. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Cypress versions
- The README gives separate setup instructions for Cypress v10 and above and for Cypress v9 and below. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Failure behavior
- By default, detected accessibility violations fail the test; skipFailures disables assertions and logs violations to the console. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Failure handling
- The skipFailures option defaults to false; when enabled, checks log violations without asserting on them. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Filter and retry
- cy.checkA11y supports filtering violations by impact and retrying checks at a specified interval. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · github.com, 23 Sept 2026
- Impact filters and retries
- Checks can filter violations by minor, moderate, serious, or critical impact and retry checks to account for dynamic content. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Inject axe-core
- The cy.injectAxe command injects the axe-core runtime into the page under test and should run after cy.visit and before cy.checkA11y. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Installation
- The README instructs users to install cypress-axe, axe-core, and Cypress from npm. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Integration
- The package is installed from npm as a development dependency alongside axe-core and Cypress. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- License
- The repository identifies the project as MIT licensed. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Maintainers
- The README says the project was created by Andy Van Slaars and is maintained by Artem Sapegin. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Manual review tools
- No · github.com, 23 Sept 2026
Where cypress-axe stands on Freedom251
- Accessibility Testing Software#99 of 169
- Website Accessibility Tools#89 of 133