AxLens

About

AxLens is a browser extension built for accessibility testers, QA engineers, developers, auditors, and keyboard-first users who need a faster way to inspect and verify webpages.
Instead of spending time digging through deeply nested DevTools structures, AxLens lets you work directly from the page itself. Capture selectors, inspect source code, highlight elements, verify semantics, and take annotated screenshots without constantly switching tools or losing context.
AxLens is designed to reduce repetitive testing overhead and make accessibility workflows faster, clearer, and more independent for everyone, including screen reader users and keyboard-only testers.


WHY AXLENS EXISTS
Modern accessibility and QA testing often involves too many disconnected steps:
   → Searching through the DOM manually
   → Expanding endless DevTools nodes
   → Re-selecting elements repeatedly
   → Copying selectors one by one
   → Taking screenshots separately
   → Manually adding annotations afterwards
   → Switching between testing and inspection tools constantly
AxLens combines those workflows into a single streamlined experience directly on the page you're testing.
Whether you're documenting accessibility issues, reviewing semantic structure, collecting selectors for automation, or validating responsive layouts, AxLens helps you move faster with fewer interruptions.


Inspector Tools
AxLens includes focused inspection tools built around real testing workflows.

Quick Snap
Inspect individual elements directly from the page.
Features include:
   → Capture element selectors instantly
   → View source code for selected elements
   → Highlight the current element visually
   → Navigate to parent, child, or sibling elements
   → Add inspected elements to a reusable capture stack
Quick Snap is useful when investigating a specific accessibility issue or verifying a particular component.

Bulk Snap
Capture multiple elements in sequence without restarting the inspection process.
Features include:
   → Multi-element capture workflow
   → Automatic visual highlighting
   → Persistent capture stack
   → Copy selectors, source code, or element names in bulk
   → Remove individual captured items or clear everything instantly
Bulk Snap is ideal for audits, issue collection, regression testing, and documenting repeated UI patterns.

Screenshot Utilities
AxLens makes screenshot workflows faster by integrating highlighting directly into the capture process.
Features include:
   → Capture screenshots with highlighted elements already visible
   → Copy screenshots directly to clipboard
   → Download annotated screenshots instantly
   → Avoid external editing tools for simple issue reporting
This is especially useful for accessibility reports, QA documentation, bug tickets, and developer handoffs.


UI Marker Tools
AxLens helps testers visualize the semantic structure of webpages.
You can highlight:
   → Headings
   → Landmarks
   → Forms
   → Links
   → Lists
   → Tables
   → Interactive elements
   → Other structural regions
Additional utilities include:
   → Displaying autocomplete values next to inputs
   → Tab Walker for viewing tab-order sequence
These tools help testers understand what assistive technology users may experience beyond just the visual layout.


Responsive Viewport Checks
Test layouts without manually resizing browser windows repeatedly.
Features include:
   → Apply reflow testing at custom widths
   → Simulate zoom behavior
   → Switch between portrait and landscape layouts
   → Stay on the current page while testing responsiveness
Useful for accessibility testing related to reflow, zoom, orientation, and adaptive layouts.


Keyboard-First Accessibility
AxLens is designed to support keyboard-driven workflows throughout the extension.
Most common actions are available through keyboard shortcuts, including:
   → Opening the extension
   → Activating Quick Snap
   → Activating Bulk Snap
   → Copying selectors
   → Copying source code
   → Capturing screenshots
   → Resetting highlights
   → Highlighting by CSS selector
This helps reduce dependency on mouse-heavy workflows and improves usability for keyboard-only users.


Built with accessibility in mind
AxLens was created with the practical challenges of accessibility testing in mind, particularly for:
   → Screen reader users
   → Keyboard-only users
   → Testers performing repetitive audits
   → QA professionals handling large applications
   → Developers validating semantic structure
Some testing workflows that are straightforward visually can become significantly more difficult when navigating complex DevTools interfaces with assistive technologies.
AxLens helps reduce that friction by allowing testers to interact directly with page content instead of relying entirely on deeply nested browser developer panels.


Lightweight and focused
AxLens focuses on practical testing workflows instead of trying to replace full browser developer tools.
The extension is intentionally lightweight and designed around common real-world accessibility and QA tasks:
   → Capturing information quickly
   → Verifying semantics
   → Inspecting elements
   → Documenting issues
   → Testing responsive layouts
   → Reducing repetitive manual work


Important browser limitations
Some browser security restrictions apply to all extensions, including AxLens.
AxLens cannot inspect:
   → Closed Shadow DOM content
   → Cross-origin iframe content
These are browser-level security boundaries and not extension-specific limitations.


Who is AxLens for?
AxLens may be useful for:
   → Accessibility testers
   → QA engineers
   → Frontend developers
   → WCAG auditors
   → Screen reader users
   → Keyboard-only users
   → Automation engineers
   → UI reviewers
   → Students learning accessibility testing


Privacy
AxLens is designed to assist with webpage inspection and testing workflows.
The extension does not sell user data or function as a tracking tool.



Built by Arkam Shakil.