Blockers and CAPTCHA - Webcompute

Some browser jobs hit login walls, consent prompts, JavaScript dialogs, bot checks, CAPTCHA, or site-specific blocking. Treat those states as product signals. A production workflow should preserve evidence, stop when appropriate, and ask for review before risky recovery actions.

Signals to inspect

Surface	What to inspect
SDK browser status	`status.blocker`, `status.captcha`, `status.activePage`, and `status.nextAction`
Browser-code execution result	`result.status`, `result.observation`, `result.logs`, and returned page metadata
CLI	`web browser status`, `web browser captcha-status`, and `web browser captcha-resolve`
MCP	`manage_browsers` actions `status`, `captcha_status`, and `captcha_resolve`
REST	Browser status and CAPTCHA resolve endpoints in the OpenAPI reference

SDK handling

const browser = await web.browser.create({
  recording: true,
  policy: { allowedDomains: ["example.com"] },
});

try {
  const result = await browser.playwright.execute({
    code: `
      await page.goto("https://example.com");
      return { title: await page.title(), url: page.url() };
    `,
    capture: { status: true, observation: { kind: "aria", includeOn: "always" } },
  });

  if (result.status?.blocker?.state === "detected" || result.status?.captcha?.state === "detected") {
    await queueHumanReview({
      browserId: browser.id,
      activePage: result.status.activePage,
      blocker: result.status.blocker,
      captcha: result.status.captcha,
      observation: result.observation,
    });
    return;
  }
} finally {
  await browser.close();
}

queueHumanReview represents your application review flow.

Agent handling

const result = await agent.run({
  startUrl: "https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls",
  goal: "Search recalls for a sample 2020 Toyota Camry query. Do not enter personal data.",
});

if (result.status === "blocked" || result.status === "needs_confirmation") {
  await queueHumanReview({
    browserId: result.browserId,
    status: result.status,
    summary: result.text,
    steps: result.steps,
    needsConfirmation: result.needsConfirmation,
  });
}

Do not turn a blocked run into an empty success. Store enough context for a reviewer to decide whether to stop, retry, adjust policy, or continue manually.

Recovery rules

Case	Recommended response
Login required	Use documented secrets and approvals. Do not put credentials in prompts.
Consent or modal prompt	Inspect the page, then accept or dismiss only when the action is in scope.
CAPTCHA detected	Stop for human review or use the documented resolver only when the host has approved that action.
Repeated blocker	Stop and report the blocker instead of widening scope automatically.
Policy denial	Treat it as an intentional boundary until the application changes policy.

Use blocker and review language in prompts, docs, and product UI. Webcompute can surface blocker and CAPTCHA state and expose resolver paths where supported, but production workflows should respect site rules and user approvals.

Reference: blockers and CAPTCHA, status, events, and logs, policy and proxy, and MCP tool reference.