Reviewed on Aug 26, 2026 by:
 Name |
 Email |
|---|---|
| Erik Gustafsson | [email protected] |
| Daniel Göransson | [email protected] |
This guide will allow you to understand how to run repeatable axe-core scans across selected Joomla core admin views.
The purpose of automated testing is to establish a quantitative starting point for common machine-detectable accessibility issues, while recognising that automated results are only one part of the overall accessibility baseline.
In this testing tool you can enter the test URL and credentials. You can enter user journeys as tests in a Gherkin format.
When you run the testing tool it starts a local Playwright session that runs the Gherkin tests with axe-core. This generates a report in a .csv format that can be opened in a spreadsheet application.
The file can also be opened in the bundled visualiser to view and compare data from multiple test runs.
Download the testing package and run the command file. No code knowledge or terminal experience is required to run this tool.
For Mac: Open Start Accessibility Checker (mac).command file.
💡For Mac you might need to allow the file to run. See the guide Apple can’t check app for malicious software.
For Windows: Open Start Accessibility Checker (windows).bat file.
For Linux: Open Start Accessibility Checker (linux).sh file.
The first time you run the file it will check for dependencies needed and install missing dependencies. The local server will start and run a browser with the testing tool.
You can also start the testing tool in the terminal.
For Mac: Open Stop Accessibility Checker (mac).command file.
For Windows: Open Stop Accessibility Checker (windows).bat file.
For Linux: Open Stop Accessibility Checker (linux).sh file.
You can also stop the testing tool in the terminal.
Enter the needed information to run your test and press “Save settings”.
Here you can add the URL to the admin page or front-end admin page.
Testing environments are usually protected by a password to restrict unauthorized access to the domain or specific parts of the domain. On the server lies an .htaccess file where a user and password can be set. You can through the testing tool enter the login credentials to ensure the tool can bypass this.
Joomla admin views are protected by a user login with different permissions set. To be able to run the user journeys for logged in pages you need to provide the tool login credentials.
User journeys are written in a Gherkin format (URL to Gherkin documentation). When adding a new user journey you are provided with an example. The checkbox can be de-selected to omit a user journey when running the test.
Add a new user journey by pressing the button “New user journey”.
Gherkin tests are saved as a .feature file, you can name the file as you please.
Press the “Edit” button in the row of your user journey. You can edit saved user journeys and delete the user journey here. Caution, there is no prompt for confirming delete and the file is permanently deleted.
The checked “User journeys” will start upon pressing “Run accessibility check”.
When you run the testing tool it starts a local Playwright session that runs the Gherkin tests with axe-core.
A progress view appears with the status of each user journey. Status can be Running for the active test, Waiting for the queued tests, Completed for the successful run or Failed for server error or an error/ mismatch in the Gherkin .feature file. You can view the details in the expandable content “What went wrong”.
A report in a .csv format and a .json file is created in the “Reports”-folder.
The .csv file can be opened in a spreadsheet application.
The provided file with results can be opened in the bundled visualizer to view and compare data from multiple test runs.
Add or drag a .csv file into “Load results”. You can add and compare multiple runs.
The results list provide:
