Terminal Workflows for Blind STEM Researchers

Start with the Workflow That Suits You

Some researchers prefer terminal and editor workflows; others use graphical applications or a combination. Text output alone does not make a tool universally accessible. Check keyboard operation, prompts, progress messages, and report navigation with your actual screen reader and terminal.

LaTeX source, a compiled PDF, and generated MathML can each have different accessibility properties. Retain your source and originals, and evaluate the output that your readers will actually receive.

Configure an Approved Deployment

The published @aelira/cli requires Node.js 22 or later. Document scanning needs an Aelira API. Install and configure the CLI using the getting started guide, then confirm the commands in your installed version.

aelira --help
aelira config set api-url https://api.example.edu
aelira config validate
aelira auth login

Replace the example URL with your approved deployment. For unpublished or sensitive work, verify configured providers, fallbacks, egress, logs, caches, and backups before uploading content. A fully local configuration requires these controls to be checked.

Inspect LaTeX and Supporting Documents

Use a synthetic sample first. The public CLI reference documents these scan commands; their JSON results are findings or review artifacts, rather than a guarantee of an accessible final document.

aelira scan latex sample-equations.tex --format json --output math-findings.json
aelira scan pdf sample-paper.pdf --format json --output pdf-findings.json
aelira scan ppt sample-slides.pptx --format json --output slide-findings.json

Review custom macros, packages, and the meaning of equations. Test generated math with the assistive technology your readers use. Unsupported content or complex structure can require manual work or produce no usable artifact.

Review Any Remediated File

If a scan offers supported remediation, use its returned scan identifier. Choose an output extension appropriate to that workflow.

# Replace SCAN_ID with the identifier from your supported PDF scan
aelira remediate SCAN_ID --download --output sample-paper-reviewed.pdf

Inspect the saved file and its rendering, reading order, tables, descriptions, and equations. A person must check accuracy and resolve outstanding issues before publication. An improved score or a successful command exit does not establish WCAG or PDF/UA conformance.

Add a Manual Scan Step to Your Editor

If you use Emacs, you can run the documented CLI command from a shell buffer or M-x compile. This is an illustrative editor pattern to test in your own setup; it does not automatically publish output.

# In a terminal or an Emacs shell/compilation buffer:
aelira scan latex sample-equations.tex --format json --output math-findings.json

Check whether prompts and progress output are usable before scheduling scans. Keep review and approval as separate steps. For directory monitoring, consult aelira scan watch --help.

Source and Support

• Current CLI command reference
• Document remediation limits and review requirements
• Report a reproducible issue with a synthetic sample
• Discuss an institutional evaluation