Continue extension is completely inaccessible with NVDA screen reader — unlabeled buttons and inaccessible settings

[AleksejsVolkovs]

Before submitting your bug report

• I've tried using the "Ask AI" feature on the Continue docs site to see if the docs have an answer
• I'm not able to find a related conversation on GitHub discussions that reports the same bug
• I'm not able to find an open issue that reports the same bug
• I've seen the troubleshooting guide on the Continue Docs

Relevant environment info

- OS:
- Continue version:
- IDE version:
- Model:
- config:
  

  
  OR link to agent in Continue hub:

Description

Description

The Continue extension for VS Code is not usable with the NVDA screen reader (and likely other screen readers). There are two major problems:

Problem 1: Unlabeled action buttons in chat responses
At the bottom of each AI response, action buttons (Insert at cursor, Copy, Apply, etc.) have no visible text labels and no aria-label attributes. NVDA reads them as just "button" or "unlabeled button" — the user cannot know what each button does.

Problem 2: Settings/config panel is completely inaccessible
The Continue settings UI (opened via "Continue: Open config file" or the gear icon) is also not accessible:

• Form fields lack proper labels for screen readers
• Dropdown menus and toggles are not keyboard-navigable
• No ARIA landmarks or roles are used
• Focus order is unpredictable
• Error messages are not announced

This makes the extension completely unusable for blind and visually impaired developers.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Continue extension v1.2.22
2. Enable NVDA screen reader
3. Send any message to the AI assistant
4. Navigate to the action buttons at the bottom of the response
5. Observe: buttons have no accessible name
6. Open Continue settings (Ctrl+Shift+P → "Continue: Open config file")
7. Observe: form controls are not labeled, not navigable

Expected Behavior

For chat response buttons:

• Each button should have a visible text label or at minimum an aria-label
• Examples: "Insert at cursor", "Copy to clipboard", "Apply changes", "Diff view"
• Focus indicators should be visible with high contrast themes

For settings/config panel:

• All form controls must have labels accessible to screen readers
• Dropdowns, checkboxes, radio buttons must be keyboard-operable
• Proper focus order (logical tab sequence)
• Use of ARIA landmarks (role="form", role="region")
• Error and status messages should use aria-live regions

Environment

• VS Code version: 1.98.2
• Continue extension version: 1.2.22 (continue.continue-1.2.22-win32-x64)
• OS: Windows
• Screen reader: NVDA
• VS Code UI language: Russian (Russian Language Pack installed)

Additional Context

The entire chat panel needs an accessibility audit:

• The model selector dropdown at the top of the chat panel
• The chat text input field (no visible label)
• All toolbar buttons
• Settings/config panels
• Any toast notifications or status messages (should use aria-live)

This is a critical accessibility blocker. Without these fixes, blind developers cannot use Continue at all.

Thank you for prioritizing accessibility!

To reproduce

No response

Log output