About & trust
Accessibility
What accessibility work is actually implemented — and, honestly, what is still deferred.
Thinking OS is a non-commercial research prototype. This document describes how the prototype actually behaves today. It is not legal advice, and it makes no claims that the repository does not support.
Accessibility is treated as part of the design system, not an afterthought. This page describes the capabilities that are genuinely built and tested, and is explicit about the limits.
What is implemented
- Full keyboard operation with a visible focus ring on every interactive element, and a “skip to content” link.
- Semantic HTML with landmark regions (header, navigation, main, footer) and a coherent heading hierarchy.
- Six appearance modes: system, light, dark, high-contrast light, high-contrast black, and a colour-vision-safe mode.
- Meaning is never carried by colour alone — status and disciplines also use text and shape.
- Reduced-motion support: all signature motion collapses under prefers-reduced-motion.
- Touch targets of at least 44px on coarse pointers, and a responsive layout from phone to desktop.
- An automated accessibility test suite (axe) runs against the interface on every check.
What is deferred
Being honest matters more than looking finished:
- Manual screen-reader testing (VoiceOver, NVDA) is a deliberate, documented deferral. Automated tests catch many issues but are not a substitute for it.
- We do not claim formal WCAG conformance. Accessibility work that is implemented is not the same as a certified conformance level, and we will not imply one we have not established.
- The graph and diagram views are visually rich; an accessible list alternative is provided, and mobile defaults to it.