Rustdoc doesn't have "Skip Navigation" links

[JayanAXHF]

Problem Synopsis

Skip navigation links allow users using keyboard navigation (i.e. the Tab key) to be able to skip long repeated sections and get directly to the main content. Currently, while using Tab navigation, one has to get past the entire left contents bar, before being able to access the main content (see video demo below). WCAG Success Criterion 2.4.1 (Level A) states

A mechanism is available to bypass blocks of content that are repeated on multiple web pages.

This feature is currently missing within rustdoc, making keyboard navigation a pain to work with on large crates.

Useful links

1. https://webaim.org/techniques/skipnav/#other
2. https://webaim.org/standards/wcag/checklist#sc2.4.1
3. https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/#bypass-blocks

Additional Details

Screen.Recording.2026-01-20.at.11.14.42.PM.mov

[eggyal]

However the left contents bar isn't a "block of content that is repeated on multiple pages": it is primarily a summary of the page's content, with links to bookmarks within the page; only after such summary are there then links to other items within the containing module, which might indeed be repeated on other pages.

So a strict reading of the recommendation would place a "skip navigation" link between these two sections, whereas I understand you're suggesting it should appear before the first?

Perhaps both would be useful (or the first jumps past the page's summary links to the module contents, and the second then to the page's main content)?

[JayanAXHF]

Perhaps both would be useful (or the first jumps past the page's summary links to the module contents, and the second then to the page's main content)?

Since the guidelines mention that more than one Skip Navigation link is allowed, this would be a good idea

[ThanhNguyxn]

@rustbot claim

I'm working on implementing a "Skip to main content" link for this issue. I'll start with a basic implementation that allows users to skip directly to the #main-content section, and we can iterate on adding more skip links (e.g., between the page summary and module contents) based on feedback.