Stop Guessing A11y: Auto-Generate Playwright Tests from Your GraphQL Schema
Accessibility checks usually arrive late and can be flaky. This session makes them contract-driven. We add lightweight @a11y hints (labels, roles) to a GraphQL schema and generate Playwright + axe-core tests. The schema becomes the source of truth for accessible names/roles, and your CI fails when the UI drifts. Live, I'll: (1) annotate a small schema, (2) run a single file Node generator that emits Playwright specs, and (3) execute them with clear pass/fail signals and reports.
You'll leave with a runnable starter plan, a minimal directive set you can copy, and a rollout path teams can adopt in days, starting with 5–10 critical screens. Stop guessing: make the schema the contract.
The demo will be from the GraphQL-a11y repo: https://github.com/vanessamj99/GraphQL-a11y.
Key Takeaways:
Minimal @a11y directive set that won't break existing clients.
Generator pattern: GraphQL → Playwright + axe-core.
CI gate that fails on semantic drift and accessibility violations.
About the speaker
Vanessa Johnson:
Vanessa Johnson is an Android Engineer at The New York Times, where she works at the intersection of mobile engineering, accessibility, and developer tooling. She is passionate about making accessibility a first-class, contract-driven part of the development workflow rather than an afterthought, and builds open-source tooling that generates accessibility tests directly from GraphQL schemas.
About
TestMu Conf
Testμ (TestMu) is the world’s largest virtual conference on agentic engineering and quality, built by the community, for the community. As AI reshapes how we build, test, and ship software, Testμ Conf is where you connect, grow, and lead: agentic workflows, autonomous quality, battle-tested AI playbooks, hands-on workshops, and the engineering culture driving it all.
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