How to automate CAPTCHA?
What is CAPTCHA?
- CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) is specifically designed to prevent bots (including Selenium scripts) from automating form submissions, logins, or registrations.
- Common types: reCAPTCHA (Google), image-based, text-based, math puzzles, “I’m not a robot” checkboxes, etc.
Should You Automate CAPTCHA?
In Real Projects:
You should NOT attempt to bypass CAPTCHA in production systems or public websites.
- Doing so is unethical and violates most websites’ terms of service.
- CAPTCHAs are there to protect against abuse.
In Test Environments:
If you have control over the environment (your own dev/stage site), you can:
- Disable CAPTCHA in the test environment.
- Use test keys or developer modes that always validate as “human.”
- Mock or remove the CAPTCHA during automation runs.
What if you must test pages with CAPTCHA?
1. Request Developers to Add a “Test Mode” or Bypass
- Ask your dev team to add a way to disable CAPTCHA for test accounts or in the test environment.
2. Use Test Keys (for Google reCAPTCHA)
- Google reCAPTCHA provides test site keys that always pass.
- Replace the site key in your test environment with a test key.
3. Manual Intervention
- Pause the script, solve CAPTCHA manually, then resume automation (not suitable for CI/CD, but works for exploratory testing).
4. Remove or Mock CAPTCHA
- In local/dev/stage environments, comment out or mock the CAPTCHA widget.
What about technical solutions or “solvers”?
Some online services (e.g., 2Captcha, AntiCaptcha) can solve CAPTCHAs using human “solvers.”
Warning:
- Using such services is not recommended for legal, ethical, and reliability reasons.
- It will slow down your test runs and is not suitable for professional automation.
Summary Table
| Approach | Suitable For | Notes |
| Disable CAPTCHA in test env | Test/QA environments | Recommended and best practice |
| Use test keys (e.g., reCAPTCHA) | Test/QA environments | For Google reCAPTCHA, use test keys |
| Manual intervention | Exploratory, one-off tests | Not CI/CD friendly |
| Third-party CAPTCHA solvers | Last resort (not advised) | Not ethical/legal for real sites |
Key Takeaway
- Never automate CAPTCHA bypass on production or public sites.
- Always coordinate with your dev/QA team to handle CAPTCHAs in test environments.
