Captcha

Understand how CAPTCHA affects Octoparse tasks and what to do when a website shows verification challenges.

CAPTCHA is a verification challenge used by websites to distinguish normal users from automated behavior. If a website shows CAPTCHA during task building or extraction, the task may pause, fail, or return incomplete data.

CAPTCHA usually indicates that the website has detected unusual activity, strict access controls, or a sensitive workflow such as login, search, or repeated page loading.

Common CAPTCHA situations

CAPTCHA may appear when:

• A task sends too many requests too quickly
• The website detects repeated access from the same IP
• Login or session behavior looks unusual
• The task runs from a cloud environment the site does not trust
• The website has strong anti-bot protection
• A proxy or IP address has poor reputation

What to do first

1. Run a local test

   Check whether CAPTCHA appears during task building, local runs, or only cloud runs.

2. Slow down the workflow

   Add waits, reduce frequency, and avoid unnecessary repeated actions.

3. Check login and cookies

   If the website requires login, confirm that the session is valid and stable.

4. Review proxy needs

   If IP reputation or location is the issue, test an appropriate proxy setup.

5. Monitor logs

   Check where CAPTCHA appears and whether the task can continue afterward.

Possible approaches

Approach	When it helps
Add waits	The website reacts to fast or repeated actions
Reduce schedule frequency	CAPTCHA appears after too many runs
Use stable cookies	The site requires session continuity
Configure proxy	IP reputation or region affects access
Run locally	The site blocks cloud environments
Manually verify during setup	CAPTCHA appears before reaching the target page

Limits

CAPTCHA is designed to prevent automated access. Some sites may not be suitable for automated extraction if CAPTCHA appears consistently or blocks the required workflow.

Do not attempt to bypass security controls in a way that violates website terms or applicable laws. If CAPTCHA prevents access to data you are not permitted to collect, stop the task.

Related pages

Proxy

Use proxy settings when IP or location affects task access.

Auto-login & cookies

Improve session stability for login-required websites.