Feature request: Accessibility (a11y) support for generated diagrams

[bartvanderwal]

Summary

I'm working on remark-kroki-a11y, a plugin that adds accessibility features to Kroki-generated diagrams. I'd like to explore whether some of this functionality could be integrated into or work better with remark-kroki.

Background

Currently, remark-kroki-a11y wraps the now-archived remark-kroki-plugin to add:

1. Source code display - Expandable section showing the diagram source (PlantUML, Mermaid, etc.)
2. Natural language descriptions - Deterministic parsers that convert diagram syntax to accessible descriptions for screen readers
3. Proper alt text and aria-describedby - For the generated images

This helps meet WCAG accessibility guidelines for diagrams in documentation.

Relationship to issue #7

I noticed the closed issue #7 (Dual output mode) discussed showing PlantUML source alongside generated diagrams. The solution there was imperative (use remark-code-example), but our approach is declarative with configuration options:

[require('remark-kroki-a11y'), {
  showSource: true,              // Show source code in expandable section
  showA11yDescription: true,     // Show natural language description
  useTabs: true,                 // Use tabs vs separate sections
  locale: 'en',                  // For i18n
}]

Question / Proposal

Would you be interested in:

1. Collaboration - We could potentially contribute a11y features to remark-kroki
2. Integration - Or design remark-kroki-a11y to work better as a companion to remark-kroki (we're considering switching from the archived remark-kroki-plugin)
3. Feedback - Any thoughts on the best architecture for this?

Why this matters

• Accessibility is increasingly required by law (EU Accessibility Act, ADA, etc.)
• Diagrams are often inaccessible to screen reader users
• Documentation sites need compliant diagram rendering

Resources

• Demo site: https://bartvanderwal.github.io/remark-kroki-a11y/
• Source: https://github.com/bartvanderwal/remark-kroki-a11y
• Our ADR on this topic: ADR-0012

Looking forward to your thoughts!