# What changed in accessibility-checker

> 47 changes in accessibility-checker 4 from its official release notes, upgrade guides and advisories: 3 breaking, 1 deprecations, 1 security, 7 new APIs and options. Each one cited. Sources checked 2026-11-12. HTML: https://unstale.sh/npm/accessibility-checker/

To see which of these apply to a repository, run `npx @unstale/cli init` in it.

## accessibility-checker 4

### Breaking changes

- The Java engine now uses syntax that requires a Rhino directive to handle. (4.0.27) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.27)
- Replaces the multiselect control with a menu button for filters in the extension. (4.0.13) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.13)
- ESM packages require .js extensions for modules in v4.x. (4.0.0) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.0)

### Security

- Security updates for UUID. (4.0.26) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.26)

### Deprecations

- Deprecates the aria_search_label_unique rule. (4.0.0) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.0)

### New APIs and options

- The simulator now supports iframes. (4.0.31) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.31)
- The simulator now supports pre elements. (4.0.31) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.31)
- Exported eAssertResult for use with vitest-accessibility-checker. (4.0.30) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.30)
- Exported eRuleLevel for use with vitest-accessibility-checker. (4.0.30) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.30)
- The simulator adds a link to the AVT process. (4.0.18) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.18)
- The screen reader simulator adds tree support. (4.0.17) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.17)
- Node/Cypress tools gain simulator capability. (4.0.14) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.14)

### Behavior and default changes

- The orientation rule is less strict, changing which cases it flags. (4.0.32) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.32)
- The simulator now supports contenteditable sections. (4.0.30) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.30)
- The simulator now supports details/summary. (4.0.30) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.30)
- Rewritten detection logic changes how list markup is identified. (4.0.30) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.30)
- exceljs is now an optional package. (4.0.25) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.26), [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.25)
- When the contained role is code, the rule reports a recommendation. (4.0.18) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.18)
- Buttons in the screen reader simulator now support aria-describedby. (4.0.18) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.18)

### Tooling

- Adds support for Cypress 16. (4.0.34) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.34)
- Added type definitions for toBeAccessible. (4.0.30) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.30)
- Type definitions were added for vite-accessibility-checker, giving developers type information when using it. (4.0.19) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.19)
- A Vitest accessibility-checking tool was created for use with Vitest. (4.0.17) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.17)
- Adds an engine sourcemap. (4.0.13) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.13)

### Fixes and other changes

- Tabbability handling now accounts for HTML native modal behavior. (4.0.32) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.32)
- Improves error reporting in the Node integration. (4.0.31) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.31)
- Fixes incomplete cache clearing when a run is performed on a subtree. (4.0.31) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.31)
- Updated simulator handling for comboboxes and listboxes. (4.0.30) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.30)
- Fixed a keyboard issue in stored scan details. (4.0.30) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.30)
- Corrected summary counts when a violation level changes. (4.0.30) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.30)
- Corrected handling of scope rowgroup. (4.0.30) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.30)
- The simulator handles links within labels. (4.0.27) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.27)
- Nested landmarks are updated correctly. (4.0.27) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.27)
- Shadow DOM paths are generated correctly for focus mode. (4.0.27) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.27)
- Fixes store scans that caused an infinite loop with Carbon datatable and select all. (4.0.18) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.18)
- Landmark rule mappings were updated, affecting how the engine evaluates landmarks. (4.0.17) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.17)
- Fixed simulation behavior, including incorrect profile selection and an incomplete Cypress implementation. (4.0.16) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.16)
- Fixed the rule server failing to deploy because of a bad mkdirp dependency. (4.0.15) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.15)
- Fixes a non-functional close button in the extension. (4.0.13) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.13)
- Fixes a ReferenceError caused by err being undefined in Cypress. (4.0.13) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.13)
- Does not report potentially obscured content when the covering content is hidden. (4.0.13) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.13)
- Fixes accessible name concatenation. (4.0.0) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.0)
- Fixes a circular structure caused by aria-owns. (4.0.0) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.0)
- Generates summaries when close() is called. (4.0.0) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.0)
- Fixes issues related to the Firefox CSS pseudo-element. (4.0.0) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.0)
- Aligns the rule with ACT v4. (4.0.0) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.0)
- Aligns the rule with ACT v4. (4.0.0) — [release notes](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.0)