**2Captcha** is a popular service that solves CAPTCHAs automatically through a human or AI-based solver. It's often used alongside proxies to maintain automation flows on websites that rely on CAPTCHA challenges to block bots.
## **Types of CAPTCHAs you may encounter** | CAPTCHA Type | Characteristics | Common On | |--------------------|-------------------------------------------|--------------------------------| | reCAPTCHA v2 | "I'm not a robot" checkbox + image grid | Google, LinkedIn, etc. | | reCAPTCHA v3 | Invisible, score-based bot detection | Background on forms | | hCaptcha | Similar to reCAPTCHA, privacy-focused | Cloudflare-protected sites | | Traditional (Image/Text) | Obfuscated letters or numbers | Older/low-budget sites |
## **Why use 2Captcha?** 2Captcha solves CAPTCHAs in real time by routing the challenge to human solvers or ML-based systems. **Key Features:** - Supports reCAPTCHA v2/v3, hCaptcha, image/text-based CAPTCHAs - Fast response times (~10–30 seconds typical) - Simple REST API with POST/GET - Supports proxy binding - Pay-as-you-go pricing (~$2.99 per 1000 reCAPTCHA v2)
## **Workflow: Solving reCAPTCHA v2 with 2Captcha** ### **Step 1: Extract sitekey from page** Look for: ```html

``` ### **Step 2: Submit to 2Captcha** ```python import requests API_KEY = "YOUR_2CAPTCHA_KEY" SITEKEY = "6Lc_aX..." URL = "https://target.com/login" payload = { 'key': API_KEY, 'method': 'userrecaptcha', 'googlekey': SITEKEY, 'pageurl': URL, 'json': 1 } response = requests.post('http://2captcha.com/in.php', data=payload) request_id = response.json()["request"] ``` ### **Step 3: Poll for the solution** ```python import time for _ in range(20): time.sleep(5) r = requests.get(f"http://2captcha.com/res.php?key={API_KEY}&action=get&id={request_id}&json=1") if r.json()["status"] == 1: solution = r.json()["request"] break ``` ### **Step 4: Inject the CAPTCHA token** ```html ``` Submit the form with this hidden input included.
## **Integrating 2Captcha with Squid Proxies** 2Captcha allows solving CAPTCHAs using your **proxy** to avoid flagging your original IP. This is important for high-volume scraping and bot workflows. ```python payload.update({ 'proxy': 'login:password@ip:port', 'proxytype': 'HTTP' }) ``` > 💡 Tip: Use residential proxies if the site discriminates against datacenter IPs. Match the geo-location of the proxy to the target site.
## **Proxy-based hCaptcha handling** Same flow as reCAPTCHA, but with a different method: ```python payload = { 'key': API_KEY, 'method': 'hcaptcha', 'sitekey': HCAPTCHA_SITEKEY, 'pageurl': URL, 'proxy': 'login:pass@ip:port', 'proxytype': 'HTTP', 'json': 1 } ```
## **Headless browser integration for CAPTCHA solving** For browser-based scrapers using **Selenium**, **Playwright**, or **Puppeteer**, inject the token into the DOM. Example (Selenium): ```python captcha_token = solution # From 2Captcha script = f'document.getElementById("g-recaptcha-response").innerHTML="{captcha_token}";' driver.execute_script(script) ``` Then trigger the submit button normally.
## **Monitoring & ensuring reliability** - Check status codes from 2Captcha - Handle timeouts (retry or escalate CAPTCHA type) - Use `reportbad` endpoint if solutions fail - Consider concurrency limits to avoid overload
## **Alternatives to 2Captcha for CAPTCHA solving** While this guide focuses on 2Captcha, other services include: - Anti-Captcha - CapMonster Cloud - DeathByCaptcha - CapSolver Still, **2Captcha** remains the simplest and most widely integrated option.
## **Final recommendations for CAPTCHA handling** - Rotate IPs and User-Agents with CAPTCHA scripts - Use real browser flows when solving reCAPTCHA v3 - Bind proxy session + CAPTCHA session for consistency - Log all request/response metadata for debugging
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