tooltips

# Tooltips Accessibility Skill > **Canonical source**: `examples/TOOLTIP_ACCESSIBILITY_BEST_PRACTICES.md` in `mgifford/ACCESSIBILITY.md` > This skill is derived from that file. When in doubt, the example is authoritative. Apply these rules when implementing or reviewing tooltip components. **Only load this skill if the project contains tooltips.** --- ## Core Mandate A tooltip is a short, non-interactive description that appears automatically when its trigger receives keyboard focus or pointer hover. An accessible tooltip must be available to keyboard, pointer, touch, magnification, and assistive technology users without hiding essential information or blocking the interface. Tooltips are often the wrong solution. Persistent visible text, a clear control label, a disclosure, or a dialog is usually easier to discover and use. This guide covers authored tooltips; the HTML `title` attribute produces a browser-controlled tooltip with different behavior and limitations (see below). Use the project's `skills/bug-reporting/SKILL.md` severity/priority framework to grade findings. The severity scale below is a skill-local shorthand, not a universal standard. --- ## Severity Scale (this skill) | Level | Meaning | | --- | --- | | **Critical** | Tooltip contains essential information with no other access route | | **Serious** | Tooltip unreachable by keyboard or AT; interactive content trapped in a tooltip | | **Moderate** | Tooltip accessible but WCAG 1.4.13 requirements not f...