Site: the theme-locked --code-comment grey (#6a6f80) on the dark code surface is 3.8:1, below WCAG AA, in both themes (F-W1-SITE-06) #887

Wave 4 · group W4 Module sweep · highest severity Low · 1 finding(s) · effort small

Summary

Code comments in code blocks and terminal mock-ups, and the small bar titles, language tags and copy buttons on the code surface, use --code-comment: #6a6f80 on --code-bg: #0d1018 — a 3.80:1 contrast ratio, below the 4.5:1 WCAG AA minimum for normal text. The code surface stays dark in light mode as well, so both themes are affected, while site/README.md:105 claims AA on both.

Primary finding

F-W1-SITE-06 — Code-surface comment and label text falls below the AA contrast floor

severity Low (rated Medium by the source review; Low here to match CR-A18-055 in #683, which it should be fixed with) · confidence high · computed from the CSS tokens

What happens. site/css/style.css:56 defines --code-comment; the light theme does not redefine it and keeps --code-bg dark (site/css/style.css:115). The token colours .terminal-body .comment (:1095), .code-block-body .comment (:1390) and the 0.78rem code-surface labels at :1061, :1366, :1401 and :2051. #683 (CR-A18-055) covers the --text-muted pairs, link and button colours and the README claim, but not this token, so fixing --text-muted leaves all of these below 4.5:1.

Where.

• site/css/style.css:56 (--code-comment)
• site/css/style.css:115 (light theme keeps --code-bg dark)
• site/css/style.css:1095
• site/css/style.css:1390
• site/css/style.css:1061
• site/css/style.css:1366
• site/css/style.css:1401
• site/css/style.css:2051

Evidence (re-verified on 2026-10-09).

• sRGB relative-luminance contrast of #6a6f80 on #0d1018 is 3.80:1; WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.3 requires 4.5:1 for normal text (https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/contrast-minimum).
• #7a8090 reaches 4.82:1 on the same background, so a small token change clears the floor.

Recommended fix. Raise --code-comment to a grey that reaches at least 4.5:1 on #0d1018 (#7a8090 gives 4.8:1), or give the 0.78rem labels their own token, then re-check every text colour used on the code surface in both themes.

Related. #683 — CR-A18-055, the other contrast tokens and the README AA claim.

Acceptance criteria

• Every text colour used on the code surface reaches 4.5:1 against --code-bg in both themes.
• The finding is resolved or explicitly closed with a reason.

_{Found by the September 2026 independent review of ForgeLM against commit cab2947 and re-verified against development at f94595f on 2026-10-09. Code links point at cab2947; line numbers may have moved since. Finding IDs (F-W1-…) are stable references for this backlog.}