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CLI reference

a11yst [options] [command]

Global options

Option Default Description
-V, --version Print version
--progress <mode> auto Progress feedback: auto, always, never
--no-progress Disable progress
-h, --help Show help

Progress is disabled when --json is used on supported commands.

Commands

detect

Detect platform, framework, and package manager.

a11yst detect [--json] [--workspace] [--cwd <path>]

init

Create a starter configuration file.

a11yst init [--force] [--platform web|react-native] [--framework <id>] \
  [--base-url <url>] [--dev-command <cmd>] [--cwd <path>] [--json]

audit

Run an accessibility audit.

a11yst audit [options]
Option Description
--json Machine-readable JSON on stdout
--config <path> Config file path
--cwd <path> Working directory for config discovery
--headed Visible browser
--timeout <ms> Navigation timeout (default 30000)
--no-start-server Fail if target not already listening
--project <name> Repeatable project filter
--profile <id> Repeatable profile filter
--flow <id> Repeatable flow filter
--flows-only Skip static routes
--routes-only Skip flows
--flow-timeout <ms> Flow step timeout (default 10000)
--output <path> Results directory
--no-html Skip HTML report
--sarif / --no-sarif SARIF generation
--sarif-output <path> Extra SARIF path
--junit / --no-junit JUnit generation
--junit-output <path> Extra JUnit path
--no-markdown Skip Markdown report
--markdown-output <path> Extra Markdown path
--github-annotations / --no-github-annotations Annotation commands file
--github-annotations-output <path> Extra annotations path
--github-step-summary / --no-github-step-summary Append to GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
--no-screenshots Disable evidence screenshots
--full-page-screenshots Full-page captures
--no-baseline Skip baseline comparison
--baseline <path> Baseline file path
--create-baseline Write baseline after audit
--force Overwrite baseline with --create-baseline
--fail-on-new / --no-fail-on-new CI policy
--fail-on-regression / --no-fail-on-regression CI policy
--fail-on-expired-classification / --no-fail-on-expired-classification CI policy
--minimum-severity <level> minor, medium, high, critical
--color <mode> auto, always, never (default auto)
--verbose Extra technical detail in human output

profiles

List accessibility profiles.

a11yst profiles [--json]

report

Regenerate reports from persisted results.

a11yst report [resultsPath] [--from <path>] [--format html|sarif|junit|markdown|github-annotations] \
  [--output <path>] [--json] [--cwd <path>]

flows

List configured flows (no browser).

a11yst flows [--json] [--config <path>] [--cwd <path>] [--project <name>]

doctor

Environment readiness checks.

a11yst doctor [--json] [--cwd <path>]

Exit 0 for ok/warn, 1 for fail.

baseline

Subcommands: create, status, update, migrate. Run a11yst baseline --help for flags.

findings

a11yst findings [--json] [--from <path>] [--config <path>] [--cwd <path>] \
  [--status new|known|regressed|resolved] [--disposition <id>] \
  [--project <name>] [--rule <id>] [--profile <id>] [--flow <id>] [--checkpoint <id>]

classify / unclassify

a11yst classify <finding-id> --disposition <id> --reason <text> [--yes] ...
a11yst unclassify <finding-id> [--yes] ...

routes

a11yst routes [--json] [--config <path>] [--cwd <path>] [--project <name>] [--explain]

Color behavior

Mode Behavior
auto Color when stderr is a TTY, not dumb, not CI-suppressed
always Force ANSI color
never No ANSI color

Also respected: NO_COLOR, FORCE_COLOR=0, --json (no color on machine output).

Machine output

Commands supporting --json emit structured data on stdout without ANSI styling. Use --color never and --progress never in CI parsers.