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| 1 | +# FAQ |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +## Find Action (Scanning for Problems) |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +### Do you support scanning PDFs? |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +Not at this time — our focus is on **website accessibility**, so PDF scanning |
| 8 | +isn't something we're planning to build into this Action. |
| 9 | + |
| 10 | +That said, there are great tools out there for that! We'd suggest checking out |
| 11 | +the [standalone PDF accessibility checkers listed by the PDF |
| 12 | +Association](https://pdfa.org/tools-for-accessible-pdf/). |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +### What about mobile apps, documents, or email templates? |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | +This Action is built specifically to scan **websites, repositories, and dynamic |
| 17 | +content** for accessibility issues. We don't support scanning for: |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | +- **Mobile apps** (iOS or Android) |
| 20 | +- **Desktop applications** |
| 21 | +- **Documents** (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.) |
| 22 | +- **Email templates** |
| 23 | + |
| 24 | +If you need accessibility testing for those, there are dedicated tools better |
| 25 | +suited for each — but for catching web accessibility problems before they reach |
| 26 | +your users, that's exactly what we're here for. |
| 27 | + |
| 28 | +--- |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +## Other / Repository-Wide Questions |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +### What's the `gh-cache` branch/Action all about? |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +**The short version:** It's an orphan branch we use to store data between Action |
| 35 | +runs. You can safely ignore it and any prompts to use it for a pull request — it's just a behind-the-scenes detail. |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +**The longer version:** We use the `gh-cache` branch (and its associated Action) |
| 38 | +to keep track of issue data across runs. This is what prevents the Action from |
| 39 | +opening duplicate issues, and it's also how we're able to **automatically close |
| 40 | +issues** that have been fixed — in other words, if a problem isn't detected |
| 41 | +again on a subsequent run, we treat it as resolved. |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +Why use a git branch instead of some other caching method? A couple of reasons: |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +- You can view and edit the cache contents right in the GitHub UI — no extra |
| 46 | + tooling needed. |
| 47 | +- Everything is version-controlled, so you can manage it with the same git |
| 48 | + commands you already know. |
| 49 | + |
| 50 | +### How do I remove or reset the cache? |
| 51 | + |
| 52 | +Since the cache lives on the `gh-cache` branch, you have a couple of options: |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +- **Delete the branch entirely** — the Action will create a fresh one on its |
| 55 | + next run |
| 56 | +- **Edit or remove specific files** on the branch through the GitHub UI or git |
| 57 | + commands |
| 58 | + |
| 59 | +Just keep in mind that resetting the cache means the Action will "forget" what |
| 60 | +it's already seen, so it may reopen issues that were previously tracked or |
| 61 | +closed. |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +### Does this work with private repositories? |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +Yes! The Action works with both public and private repositories. Since it runs |
| 66 | +within GitHub Actions, it has access to your repository's content regardless of |
| 67 | +visibility settings. No extra configuration needed. |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +### Does this work with monorepos or multiple sites? |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +It does. If your repository contains multiple sites or projects, you can |
| 72 | +configure separate workflow runs targeting different URLs or paths. Each scan |
| 73 | +runs independently, so you can tailor the setup to match however your repo is |
| 74 | +structured. |
| 75 | + |
| 76 | +### How often does / should the Action run? |
| 77 | + |
| 78 | +That's really up to you and your workflow. Some common setups include: |
| 79 | + |
| 80 | +- **On every push or pull request** — great for catching issues early in |
| 81 | + development |
| 82 | +- **On a scheduled cron job** (e.g., daily or weekly) — good for ongoing |
| 83 | + monitoring of live sites |
| 84 | +- **Manually triggered** — useful for one-off audits |
| 85 | + |
| 86 | +If you're just getting started, running on pull requests is a solid default — it |
| 87 | +catches problems before they get merged without adding noise to every single |
| 88 | +commit. |
| 89 | + |
| 90 | +### Will this slow down my CI/CD pipeline? |
| 91 | + |
| 92 | +The Action runs as its own job, so it won't block your builds or deployments |
| 93 | +unless you specifically configure it to. Scan times depend on the size and |
| 94 | +complexity of the site being scanned, but for most projects it adds minimal |
| 95 | +overhead. You can also run it on a schedule instead of on every push if speed is |
| 96 | +a concern. |
| 97 | + |
| 98 | +### Can I customize which rules or checks are run? |
| 99 | + |
| 100 | +Under the hood, this Action uses |
| 101 | +**[axe-core](https://github.com/dequelabs/axe-core)** — the industry gold |
| 102 | +standard for automated accessibility testing. That gives you a solid, |
| 103 | +well-maintained foundation right out of the box. |
| 104 | + |
| 105 | +That said, you're not locked into a single setup. You can tap into different |
| 106 | +APIs and configure the Action to focus on the specific accessibility standards |
| 107 | +or rules that matter most to your project. |
| 108 | + |
| 109 | +If you're looking to go even further, we also have resources for integrating |
| 110 | +accessibility into your development workflow with GitHub Copilot: |
| 111 | + |
| 112 | +- **[Getting Started with GitHub Copilot Custom Agents for |
| 113 | + Accessibility](https://accessibility.github.com/documentation/guide/getting-started-with-agents/)** |
| 114 | + — learn how to set up custom agents tailored to accessibility workflows |
| 115 | +- **[Optimizing GitHub Copilot for Accessibility with Custom |
| 116 | + Instructions](https://accessibility.github.com/documentation/guide/copilot-instructions/)** |
| 117 | + — fine-tune how Copilot assists you with accessibility-specific guidance |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +Between axe-core's rule set, API flexibility, and Copilot's custom instructions, |
| 120 | +you've got a lot of room to shape the tooling around how your team actually |
| 121 | +works. |
| 122 | + |
| 123 | +### Does this work with GitHub Enterprise? |
| 124 | + |
| 125 | +Yes, the Action is compatible with GitHub Enterprise Cloud. For GitHub |
| 126 | +Enterprise Server, compatibility may depend on your version and Actions |
| 127 | +availability. If you run into any issues, feel free to open an issue and we'll |
| 128 | +do our best to help. |
| 129 | + |
| 130 | +### Can multiple people use this on the same repo? |
| 131 | + |
| 132 | +Absolutely. The Action is tied to the repository, not to any individual user. |
| 133 | +Anyone with the appropriate permissions can trigger runs, view results, and |
| 134 | +manage the issues it creates. It works just like any other GitHub Action in that |
| 135 | +regard. |
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