Start here

New to AI coding tools? This page assumes nothing. Pick the app you use, follow the steps, and Accessibility Agents will check your work for accessibility as you build.

What Accessibility Agents is, in one paragraph

Accessibility Agents is a free add-on for AI coding apps. Once it is installed, the AI knows the WCAG 2.2 accessibility rules and checks its own work against them. When it changes a web page, a document, Python code or a desktop app, it calls in a specialist for each concern (headings, forms, color contrast, keyboard use, screen readers and more). In most apps it also stops the AI from editing a web page until that review is done. It can also scan Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and ePub files, and it knows the accessibility frameworks desktop apps use on Windows and macOS. It is not a separate program you open: it works inside the AI app you already use.

What it can help with

Websites and web apps: HTML, React, Vue, Svelte, CSS and server templates, from a single button to a full site audit.
Documents: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and ePub, one file or a whole folder.
Markdown and documentation: link text, alt text, headings, tables and diagrams.
Python and desktop apps: Python and wxPython code, desktop apps on Windows and macOS (UI Automation, MSAA and IAccessible2, the macOS accessibility API, and Qt Widgets), and how to test them with a screen reader.
NVDA add-ons: building, debugging, packaging and publishing add-ons for the NVDA screen reader (global plugins, app modules, synthesizer and braille display drivers) and submitting them to the NVDA Add-on Store, grounded in NVDA’s own source code.
Mobile apps: React Native, SwiftUI, UIKit and Jetpack Compose.
GitHub work: issues, pull requests, releases and reviews, plus adopting GitHub’s Open Source Accessibility Framework in your project.

What you need

One AI coding app from the list below, and an account for it. Most need a paid plan. Each section below says which.
A folder with your project in it, such as a website, an app, or a folder of documents.
Node.js 22 or later for the apps marked “terminal”. Download it from nodejs.org and take the LTS version. The desktop apps do not need it.

Which app do you use?

Full support means the specialists, the edit check and the document scanners. Partial support is explained in the last column.

AI apps, whether they can run Accessibility Agents, and how much of it
App	Works?	What you get
Claude Code (terminal)	Yes	Everything
Claude desktop app, Code tab	Yes	Everything, once it is installed for your account
Claude chat (claude.ai and the desktop chat)	No	Use the Code tab of the desktop app instead
GitHub Copilot CLI (terminal)	Yes	Everything
GitHub Copilot app (desktop)	Yes	The specialists and scanners, as a plugin
VS Code with GitHub Copilot	Yes	Everything, as an agent plugin
Copilot on github.com	Partly	The cloud agent can use it; Copilot Chat on the website cannot
Codex (app, terminal or VS Code)	Yes	The specialists and scanners; the edit check needs one extra step
ChatGPT (website and desktop chat)	No	Use Codex, which comes with paid ChatGPT plans
Gemini CLI (terminal)	Yes	Everything
Antigravity	Yes	Everything, from a copy of the project
Other apps (Cursor, Windsurf and others)	Partly	The scanners, through MCP

Not sure? If you have a ChatGPT plan, start with Codex. If you have GitHub Copilot, start with VS Code. If you have a Claude plan, start with the Claude desktop app.

Set up your app

Each section opens to show its steps. A terminal is the text window where you type commands: Terminal on a Mac, and PowerShell or Windows Terminal on Windows. Type or paste each command and press Enter.

Claude Code (terminal)

You need: a Claude Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan, or a Claude Console account. The free plan does not include Claude Code.

Install Claude Code. On a Mac or Linux, run:
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
On Windows, in PowerShell, run:
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
On Windows, also install Git for Windows.
Close the terminal and open a new one. Go to your project folder (for example cd Documents/my-site) and run claude. Sign in when your browser opens.
In Claude Code, type these two lines, one at a time:
/plugin marketplace add Community-Access/accessibility-agents /plugin install accessibility-agents@community-access
When it asks where to install, choose your user account, so it works in every project.

Claude desktop app (Code tab)

You need: the Claude desktop app for Mac or Windows from claude.ai/download, and a Claude Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan.

Open the app, sign in, and switch to Code. Choose your project folder as a local session. Cloud sessions cannot load plugins.
The desktop plugin browser installs plugins from marketplaces it already knows, and it has no button to add a new one yet. So add Accessibility Agents once from a terminal with Claude Code (the Claude Code steps), choosing your user account. The app’s local sessions use the same Claude Code settings.
Back in the app, select + next to the message box, then Plugins, then Manage plugins, and check that Accessibility Agents is turned on.

Claude chat (claude.ai and the desktop chat)

Not supported. Chat cannot read the files in your project folder the way a coding app does, it does not run the edit check, and it does not start a local MCP server like ours. Use the Code tab of the Claude desktop app, or Claude Code in a terminal, with the same Claude account.

GitHub Copilot CLI (terminal)

You need: a GitHub account with any Copilot plan, including Copilot Free. If your Copilot comes from your work, your organization must allow the CLI.

Install the Copilot CLI. With Node.js installed (see What you need), run:
npm install -g @github/copilot
On Windows you can use winget install GitHub.Copilot instead, and on a Mac brew install --cask copilot-cli. Details are in GitHub’s install guide.
Go to your project folder and run copilot. Sign in to GitHub when it asks.
In another terminal, or after you leave Copilot, run:
copilot plugin marketplace add Community-Access/accessibility-agents copilot plugin install accessibility-agents@community-access

GitHub Copilot app (desktop)

You need: any Copilot plan, Git installed, and the app from github.com/features/ai/github-app.

Open the app, select Sign in to GitHub, and add your project folder or repository when it asks.
In the sidebar, open Customize, then Plugins.
Select the button next to the marketplace list to add a marketplace, and enter Community-Access/accessibility-agents.
Find accessibility-agents in the list and select Install.

VS Code with GitHub Copilot

You need: VS Code, signed in to GitHub with any Copilot plan, including Copilot Free.

Open Settings (Ctrl+Comma, or Cmd+Comma on a Mac), search for chat.plugins.enabled, and turn it on.
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P, or Cmd+Shift+P on a Mac) and run Chat: Install Plugin from Source.
Enter https://github.com/Community-Access/accessibility-agents and confirm that you trust it.
Open Copilot Chat. Type / and you will see the Accessibility Agents entry points in the list.

GitHub Copilot on github.com

Copilot cloud agent (the agent you assign issues to, on paid Copilot plans) can use Accessibility Agents if your repository turns the plugin on in .github/copilot/settings.json. GitHub explains how in About plugins. Ask whoever manages the repository to set it up.

Copilot Chat on the github.com website does not load plugins or skills. Use VS Code, the Copilot app or the Copilot CLI for that.

Codex (app, terminal or VS Code)

You need: a ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Edu or Enterprise plan. Codex comes with it.

Install Codex. In a terminal, run:
npm install -g @openai/codex
On a Mac you can use brew install --cask codex instead. The desktop app opens with codex app, or download it from chatgpt.com/codex.
Run codex and choose Sign in with ChatGPT.
Add Accessibility Agents:
codex plugin marketplace add Community-Access/accessibility-agents codex plugin add accessibility-agents@community-access
Codex plugins work in the Codex app, the CLI and the Codex extension for VS Code.
Optional, for the edit check: Codex plugins cannot install it. Follow the steps from a copy of the project, which add it for Codex too.
To call the lead reviewer by name in Codex, type $accessibility-lead.

ChatGPT (website and desktop chat)

Not supported. ChatGPT can only connect to MCP servers that run on the internet, and Accessibility Agents runs on your own computer so your files stay with you. ChatGPT also cannot open your project folder. Use Codex, which is included with paid ChatGPT plans and is OpenAI’s app for working on code.

Gemini CLI (terminal)

You need: a Google account.

Install Gemini CLI:
npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
Run gemini and sign in with Google.
Add Accessibility Agents:
gemini extensions install https://github.com/Community-Access/accessibility-agents

Antigravity, or from a copy of the project

This route works for Antigravity and adds the edit check for Codex. You need Git and Node.js.

Download the project and set it up:
git clone https://github.com/Community-Access/accessibility-agents cd accessibility-agents npm install npm run setup -- --dry-run npm run setup
The --dry-run line shows what it will do and changes nothing. The last line does it. It never overwrites a file you have changed.

Other apps (Cursor, Windsurf and others): the scanners only

Any app that can run a local MCP server can use the 39 scanning tools. It will not get the specialists or the edit check. In the app’s MCP settings, add a server with this command:

npx -y @community-access/accessibility-agents-mcp

Try it

Open your project in your app and ask in plain words. You do not need special commands:

“Review this page for accessibility.”
“Audit the whole site and write a report.”
“Check these PDFs for accessibility.”
“Fix the accessibility problems in the Markdown files in docs.”
“Check this wxPython dialog for screen reader problems.”
“Is this Qt window usable with NVDA and VoiceOver?”
“Help me build an NVDA add-on that announces the battery level.”

If the AI tries to change a web page and is told an accessibility review is required first, that means it is working. Let the review finish and the edit goes through.

Words you will see

Plugin or extension: An add-on that an AI app installs. Accessibility Agents is one.
Skill: A set of instructions the AI reads when it needs them. Accessibility Agents has 113: six entry points and the specialists they call.
MCP server: A small program that gives the AI extra tools. Ours runs on your computer and provides the scanners.
Edit check: A rule that stops the AI from editing a web page until the accessibility review is finished.
Terminal: The text window where you type commands.

Stuck?

Quick start: the short version, for people who already use these apps
Troubleshooting
Ask for help or report a problem
Email support@community-access.org

Product names, plans and menus belong to their makers and change often. This page was checked against each maker’s documentation on October 28, 2026.