recaptcha-solving

name	recaptcha-solving
description	Solve reCAPTCHA v2 image challenges using Playwright MCP screenshot-based visual identification. Use when a web form has a reCAPTCHA "I'm not a robot" checkbox that triggers an image grid challenge.

Solving reCAPTCHA v2 Image Challenges

Solve reCAPTCHA v2 ("I'm not a robot" checkbox -> image grid challenge) using Playwright MCP tools. Works by taking a screenshot of the challenge grid, visually identifying target objects, clicking matching squares, and verifying.

Procedure

1. Click the checkbox

Find the reCAPTCHA iframe in the page snapshot. It contains a checkbox labeled "I'm not a robot". Click it. This triggers the image challenge.

2. Take a screenshot immediately

A challenge dialog appears with an image grid (usually 4x4 or 3x3) and an instruction like "Select all squares with motorcycles".

Take a screenshot of the CAPTCHA dialog element — this gives you the visual content needed to identify which squares contain the target object.

3. Identify and click target squares

From the screenshot, identify which grid squares contain the requested object. Click them in rapid succession. Do NOT deliberate too long.

4. Click Verify

After selecting all matching squares, click the "Verify" button immediately.

CAPTCHA Types

Single-round grid (best case)

• One static image grid, select all matching squares, click Verify, done
• Solvable in ~30-40 seconds
• This is the goal — fast identification, fast clicking, fast verify

Multi-round "select and wait" (harder)

• After selecting squares, new tiles fade in to replace them
• Must keep selecting until no more targets appear
• 2-minute timeout makes this risky due to tool call latency
• Strategy: Click "Get a new challenge" button to hopefully get a simpler single-round grid instead of grinding through multiple rounds

Speed Budget

The CAPTCHA has a ~2 minute expiry window. Each Playwright tool call takes several seconds. Budget:

• ~5s: click checkbox
• ~5s: take screenshot
• ~15s: identify targets from screenshot
• ~15s: click all target squares (rapid succession)
• ~5s: click Verify
• Total: ~45 seconds, leaving ~75 seconds buffer

Do NOT over-analyze — act on your best visual assessment. Getting 80% of squares right is usually enough. Missing one edge case square is better than timing out.

Common Target Objects

motorcycles, bicycles, crosswalks, traffic lights, buses, fire hydrants, stairs, chimneys, bridges, boats, palm trees, taxis, parking meters

Failure Protocol: Hypothesize Before Retrying

You can usually identify the correct squares — the bottleneck is speed. Do NOT just retry blindly. After each failed attempt, stop and think before touching the CAPTCHA again.

After each failure, write notes (to a file, not just in your head):

1. What happened: timeout? wrong squares? multi-round tiles kept appearing? CAPTCHA expired before you could click Verify?
2. Why it failed: Were you too slow taking the screenshot? Too slow clicking? Did you deliberate too long identifying squares? Did a multi-round challenge eat your time budget?
3. Hypothesis: What specific thing would fix it? e.g. "I spent 20s analyzing the screenshot — next time click immediately on obvious squares first, then re-examine", or "multi-round: hit Get New Challenge instead of grinding"
4. Solution plan: Write out the exact sequence of actions you will take, including which tool calls, before you start the next attempt

Only retry ONCE you have a concrete plan

The CAPTCHA timer starts the moment you click the checkbox. Your plan must be ready BEFORE you click. Think of it like:

• Planning phase (no timer): analyze what went wrong, devise strategy
• Execution phase (2-min timer): execute the plan as fast as possible

Track all attempts

Keep a running log in a notes file:

## Attempt N
- Time: HH:MM:SS UTC
- Challenge type: [single-round 4x4 / multi-round 3x3 / etc]
- Target: [motorcycles / crosswalks / etc]
- Result: [success / fail]
- Failure reason: [timeout / wrong squares / etc]
- Hypothesis: [what to change]
- Plan for next attempt: [specific actions]

This prevents going in circles. If the same failure mode repeats 3 times, escalate to a fundamentally different approach (audio challenge, new challenge, or abort and report to user).

Multi-Round Strategy

Multi-round challenges (tiles regenerate after selection) are the hardest because each round costs ~15-20 seconds of tool calls. Strategies:

1. First choice: Click "Get a new challenge" (refresh button) — may get a simpler single-round grid
2. If stuck in multi-round: After selecting tiles, take a new screenshot immediately to see regenerated tiles. Have your clicking plan ready before the screenshot even loads.
3. After 2 failed multi-round attempts: Try "Get an audio challenge" instead. Audio challenges play a spoken number sequence — type what you hear.
4. After 3 total failures: Stop and report to user what's happening