Accessible Astro Launcher

A powerful, accessible command palette/launcher component for Astro projects. Built with keyboard-driven navigation, instant search, and full WCAG 2.2 AA compliance. Features semantic HTML with proper ARIA patterns (role="switch" for toggles, native anchors for links), dark mode support, preference toggles integration, and extensive customization through CSS custom properties.

         

Our mission

Provide developers with accessible, easy-to-use components that make building inclusive web applications simpler and faster, without compromising on customization or performance.

Features

• Accessible by default: Semantic HTML with proper ARIA patterns (role="switch" for toggles, native <a> for links)
• Keyboard navigation: Open with Cmd/Ctrl + K, navigate with arrow keys, select with Enter, close with Escape
• Continuous typing: Focus stays on input via aria-activedescendant - type to filter at any point while navigating
• Screen reader support: Proper role announcements ("switch", "link"), live region for results count with search query
• Quick search: Instant client-side fuzzy search across labels and keywords
• Navigation links: Semantic <a> elements with custom icons and external link support
• Preference switches: Toggle buttons with role="switch", aria-checked, and LED-style indicators
• Preference toggles stay open: Change multiple preferences without reopening the launcher
• Preference sync: Automatic sync with accessible-astro-components toggles (DarkMode, HighContrast, ReducedMotion)
• Multiple triggers: Place triggers anywhere - all open the same launcher
• Dark mode: Automatic light/dark theming via light-dark() CSS function
• Customizable: Extensive styling through --launcher-* CSS custom properties
• i18n ready: All text labels customizable via props (including {query} placeholders)
• Zero dependencies: Pure Astro components
• TypeScript: Full type support and documentation

Getting started

# npm
npm install accessible-astro-launcher

# pnpm
pnpm add accessible-astro-launcher

# yarn
yarn add accessible-astro-launcher

Quick start

---
import {
  Launcher,
  LauncherTrigger,
  LauncherPreferences,
  LauncherSwitch,
  LauncherNav,
  LauncherLink,
} from 'accessible-astro-launcher'
---

<LauncherTrigger launcherId="site-launcher" />

<Launcher id="site-launcher">
  <LauncherPreferences label="Preferences">
    <LauncherSwitch label="Dark mode" onAction="toggle-dark-mode" />
    <LauncherSwitch label="High contrast" onAction="toggle-high-contrast" />
  </LauncherPreferences>
  <LauncherNav label="Navigation">
    <LauncherLink label="Home" href="/" />
    <LauncherLink label="About" href="/about" />
    <LauncherLink label="Contact" href="/contact" />
  </LauncherNav>
</Launcher>

Components

Component	Description
Launcher	Main dialog with search input and results
LauncherTrigger	Button that opens the launcher (place anywhere)
LauncherPreferences	<fieldset> wrapper with <legend> for preference switches
LauncherSwitch	Toggle button with role="switch" and LED indicator
LauncherNav	<nav> wrapper with heading for navigation links
LauncherLink	Semantic <a> element with icon slot

Accessible Astro ecosystem

The Accessible Astro ecosystem is a collection of projects that are designed to help you build accessible web applications. It includes:

• Accessible Astro Starter: Fully accessible starter for kickstarting Astro projects, with Tailwind.
• Accessible Astro Components: Library of reusable, accessible components built for Astro.
• Accessible Astro Dashboard: User-friendly dashboard interface with a login screen and widgets.
• Accessible Astro Launcher: Command palette/launcher component for Astro projects.
• Accessible Astro Docs: Comprehensive documentation for all Accessible Astro projects.
• Color Contrast Checker: WCAG-compliant color contrast checker with design system token generation.

Check out our roadmap to see what's coming next!

Contributing

We welcome contributions to improve the launcher! You can help by:

1. Filing an issue
2. Submitting a pull request
3. Starting a discussion
4. Supporting on Open Collective

Support this project

Your support helps us cover basic costs and continue building accessible solutions for the Astro ecosystem. By becoming a sponsor, you're not just supporting code – you're helping create a more inclusive web for everyone. Every contribution, big or small, helps maintain and improve these accessibility-focused tools.

Together we make a difference

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributes to making the web more accessible:

• The Astro team for creating an amazing static site generator and the wonderful Starlight theme
• Our contributors who dedicate their time and expertise to improve these tools
• Niek Derksen for conducting comprehensive accessibility audits to ensure WCAG compliance
• Our sponsors who help make this project sustainable
• The web community for embracing and promoting web accessibility
• You, the developer for choosing to make your projects more accessible

Together, we're not just building documentation or components – we're creating a more inclusive and accessible web for everyone. Every contribution, whether it's code, documentation, bug reports, or feedback, helps move us closer to this goal. ✨

Remember: Accessibility is not a feature, it's a fundamental right. Thank you for being part of this journey!