Linter Rule: Disabled Attribute

Rule: a11y-disabled-attribute

Description

The disabled attribute is only valid on certain HTML elements. Using it on other elements has no effect and may confuse users or assistive technologies.

Rationale

The HTML disabled attribute is a boolean attribute that only applies to form-related elements: button, input, textarea, option, select, fieldset, optgroup, and task-lists. Applying it to other elements like <a>, <div>, or <span> has no native browser behavior and can be misleading.

Examples

✅ Good

<button disabled>Continue</button>

<input type="text" disabled>
Add an `autocomplete` attribute to improve form accessibility. Use a specific value (e.g., `autocomplete="email"`), `autocomplete="on"` for defaults, or `autocomplete="off"` to disable. (html-input-require-autocomplete)

<select disabled><option>A</option></select>

🚫 Bad

<a href="https://github.com/" disabled>Go to GitHub</a>

<div disabled>Content</div>

<span disabled>Text</span>

References

• erblint-github: DisabledAttribute
• erblint-github docs
• MDN: HTML attribute disabled