Preflight Checklist
Problem Statement
Currently, Claude Code’s command-line interface is not fully accessible to screen reader users (e.g., NVDA, JAWS, or Narrator).
When using the CLI, screen readers often mispronounce characters (like | or partial tokens), freeze during streaming output, or stop responding entirely.
The terminal may also hang or become unresponsive when NVDA is active.
As a result, blind and low-vision developers cannot reliably use Claude Code, and often need to restart their screen reader or the terminal multiple times during a session.
This makes the tool frustrating and largely unusable for accessibility-oriented users.
Proposed Solution
Hi Anthropic team,
I’m an accessibility-focused developer and I’d like to request a small but important feature for Claude Code — a command-line flag similar to --screen-reader recently introduced in Gemini CLI.
💡 What it should do
When --screen-reader is enabled, the CLI should:
•
Disable spinners, color codes, and animated text updates.
•
Output plain, linear text without ANSI formatting.
•
Optionally force simple text mode for streaming output.
•
Be optimized for screen readers such as NVDA, JAWS, or Narrator.
🧩 Why it’s important
Screen readers often freeze or skip lines when a CLI updates the same line rapidly (e.g., token streaming or progress spinners).
This makes it difficult or impossible for blind developers to follow model responses in real time.
Other tools (like Gemini CLI) have already introduced this flag, which has made a huge difference in accessibility.
✅ Expected outcome
Add an optional flag:
claude --screen-reader
or:
claude --accessibility
When active, Claude Code would output text in a way compatible with screen readers.
❤️ Accessibility impact
This would make Claude Code a truly inclusive development tool, helping many blind or low-vision users participate more easily in AI-assisted coding.
Thanks for considering this improvement — I’d be happy to help test it with NVDA or Jaws for Windows!
Alternative Solutions
No response
Priority
High - Significant impact on productivity
Feature Category
CLI commands and flags
Use Case Example
No response
Additional Context
Several blind and low-vision users have reported accessibility issues when using Claude Code with screen readers such as NVDA or JAWS.
In particular:
•
The CLI speaks or outputs strange characters, such as the vertical bar (|) or partial Unicode fragments, which causes speech output confusion.
•
NVDA sometimes freezes or stops responding while Claude Code is running, especially during token streaming or spinner updates.
•
Users are forced to restart their screen reader multiple times during a single session to regain control.
•
The terminal window occasionally becomes unresponsive when NVDA is active, especially on Windows.
Because of these problems, many blind developers currently find Claude Code very difficult to use in real-world coding scenarios.
A --screen-reader mode that disables animations and formats plain text output (like Gemini CLI’s implementation) would solve most of these issues.
Preflight Checklist
Problem Statement
Currently, Claude Code’s command-line interface is not fully accessible to screen reader users (e.g., NVDA, JAWS, or Narrator).
When using the CLI, screen readers often mispronounce characters (like | or partial tokens), freeze during streaming output, or stop responding entirely.
The terminal may also hang or become unresponsive when NVDA is active.
As a result, blind and low-vision developers cannot reliably use Claude Code, and often need to restart their screen reader or the terminal multiple times during a session.
This makes the tool frustrating and largely unusable for accessibility-oriented users.
Proposed Solution
Hi Anthropic team,
I’m an accessibility-focused developer and I’d like to request a small but important feature for Claude Code — a command-line flag similar to --screen-reader recently introduced in Gemini CLI.
💡 What it should do
When --screen-reader is enabled, the CLI should:
•
Disable spinners, color codes, and animated text updates.
•
Output plain, linear text without ANSI formatting.
•
Optionally force simple text mode for streaming output.
•
Be optimized for screen readers such as NVDA, JAWS, or Narrator.
🧩 Why it’s important
Screen readers often freeze or skip lines when a CLI updates the same line rapidly (e.g., token streaming or progress spinners).
This makes it difficult or impossible for blind developers to follow model responses in real time.
Other tools (like Gemini CLI) have already introduced this flag, which has made a huge difference in accessibility.
✅ Expected outcome
Add an optional flag:
claude --screen-reader
or:
claude --accessibility
When active, Claude Code would output text in a way compatible with screen readers.
❤️ Accessibility impact
This would make Claude Code a truly inclusive development tool, helping many blind or low-vision users participate more easily in AI-assisted coding.
Thanks for considering this improvement — I’d be happy to help test it with NVDA or Jaws for Windows!
Alternative Solutions
No response
Priority
High - Significant impact on productivity
Feature Category
CLI commands and flags
Use Case Example
No response
Additional Context
Several blind and low-vision users have reported accessibility issues when using Claude Code with screen readers such as NVDA or JAWS.
In particular:
•
The CLI speaks or outputs strange characters, such as the vertical bar (|) or partial Unicode fragments, which causes speech output confusion.
•
NVDA sometimes freezes or stops responding while Claude Code is running, especially during token streaming or spinner updates.
•
Users are forced to restart their screen reader multiple times during a single session to regain control.
•
The terminal window occasionally becomes unresponsive when NVDA is active, especially on Windows.
Because of these problems, many blind developers currently find Claude Code very difficult to use in real-world coding scenarios.
A --screen-reader mode that disables animations and formats plain text output (like Gemini CLI’s implementation) would solve most of these issues.