Documentation | API Reference

Guidepup is a screen reader automation library for testing.

It enables testing for VoiceOver on MacOS and NVDA on Windows with a single API.

Capabilities

• Full Control - If a screen reader has a keyboard command, then Guidepup supports it.
• Mirrors Real User Experience - Assert on what users really do and hear when using screen readers.
• Framework Agnostic - Run with Jest, with Playwright, as an independent script, no vendor lock-in.

Getting Started

Set up your machine for screen reader automation:

npx @guidepup/setup setup

Install Guidepup to your project:

npm install @guidepup/guidepup

Install the Guidepup screen reader assets:

npx @guidepup/setup install

And get cracking with your first screen reader automation code!

Examples

Head over to the Guidepup Website for guides, real world examples, environment setup, and complete API documentation with examples.

You can also check out these examples to learn how you could use Guidepup in your projects.

Basic Navigation

Cross-Platform

import { screenReader } from "@guidepup/guidepup";

(async () => {
  // On MacOS starts VoiceOver, on Windows starts NVDA.
  await screenReader.start();

  await screenReader.next();
  console.log(await screenReader.spokenPhraseLog());

  await screenReader.stop();
})();

VoiceOver

import { voiceOver } from "@guidepup/guidepup";

(async () => {
  await voiceOver.start();

  await voiceOver.next();
  console.log(await voiceOver.spokenPhraseLog());

  await voiceOver.stop();
})();

NVDA

import { nvda } from "@guidepup/guidepup";

(async () => {
  await nvda.start();

  await nvda.next();
  console.log(await nvda.spokenPhraseLog());

  await nvda.stop();
})();

Complex Navigation

VoiceOver

import { voiceOver } from "@guidepup/guidepup";

(async () => {
  await voiceOver.start();

  await voiceOver.perform(voiceOver.keyboardCommands.findNextHeading);
  console.log(await voiceOver.itemText());

  await voiceOver.perform(voiceOver.keyboardCommands.findNextControl);
  console.log(await voiceOver.lastSpokenPhrase());

  await voiceOver.stop();
})();

NVDA

import { nvda } from "@guidepup/guidepup";

(async () => {
  await nvda.start();

  await nvda.perform(nvda.keyboardCommands.moveToNextHeading);
  console.log(await nvda.itemText());

  await nvda.perform(nvda.keyboardCommands.moveToNextFormField);
  console.log(await nvda.lastSpokenPhrase());

  await nvda.stop();
})();

Powerful Tooling

Check out some of the other Guidepup modules:

• @guidepup/setup - Set up your local or CI environment for screen reader test automation.
• @guidepup/playwright - Seemless integration of Guidepup with Playwright.
• @guidepup/virtual-screen-reader - Reliable unit testing for your screen reader a11y workflows.
• @guidepup/jest - Jest matchers for reliable unit testing of your screen reader a11y workflows.

Similar

Here are some similar unaffiliated projects:

• at-driver
• nvda-at-automation
• @accesslint/voiceover
• screen-reader-reader
• web-test-runner-voiceover
• nvda-testing-driver
• assistive-webdriver
• screen-reader-testing-library

Resources

• Documentation
• API Reference
• Contributing
• Changelog
• MIT License