Building a CAPTCHA Solve Event Bus with Node.js and CaptchaAI

Callbacks and polling handle results, but they don't give your application visibility into the full CAPTCHA lifecycle. An event bus broadcasts state changes — submitted, pending, solved, failed, timed out — so any part of your application can react without tight coupling.

Event Bus Architecture

[CaptchaBus]
   ├── emit("submitted", { taskId, type, pageurl })
   ├── emit("pending", { taskId, elapsed })
   ├── emit("solved", { taskId, solution, duration })
   ├── emit("failed", { taskId, error, duration })
   └── emit("timeout", { taskId, elapsed })
        ↓          ↓           ↓
   [Logger]    [Metrics]   [Retry Handler]

Listeners register independently. Adding a new feature (e.g., metrics collection) requires zero changes to the solving code.

The CaptchaBus Class — JavaScript

const EventEmitter = require("events");
const axios = require("axios");

class CaptchaBus extends EventEmitter {
  constructor(apiKey, options = {}) {
    super();
    this.apiKey = apiKey;
    this.pollInterval = options.pollInterval || 5000;
    this.maxWait = options.maxWait || 300000; // 5 minutes
    this.pending = new Map();
  }

  async submit(params) {
    const { method, sitekey, pageurl, ...extra } = params;
    const taskId = `task_${Date.now()}_${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)}`;

    const submitParams = {
      key: this.apiKey,
      method: method || "userrecaptcha",
      googlekey: sitekey,
      pageurl: pageurl,
      json: 1,
      ...extra,
    };

    try {
      const resp = await axios.post(
        "https://ocr.captchaai.com/in.php",
        null,
        { params: submitParams }
      );

      if (resp.data.status !== 1) {
        this.emit("failed", {
          taskId,
          error: resp.data.request,
          duration: 0,
        });
        return null;
      }

      const captchaId = resp.data.request;
      const startTime = Date.now();

      this.emit("submitted", {
        taskId,
        captchaId,
        method: method || "userrecaptcha",
        pageurl,
      });

      // Start polling
      this._poll(taskId, captchaId, startTime);
      return taskId;
    } catch (err) {
      this.emit("failed", { taskId, error: err.message, duration: 0 });
      return null;
    }
  }

  async _poll(taskId, captchaId, startTime) {
    const check = async () => {
      const elapsed = Date.now() - startTime;

      if (elapsed > this.maxWait) {
        this.emit("timeout", { taskId, elapsed });
        return;
      }

      this.emit("pending", { taskId, elapsed });

      try {
        const resp = await axios.get("https://ocr.captchaai.com/res.php", {
          params: {
            key: this.apiKey,
            action: "get",
            id: captchaId,
            json: 1,
          },
        });

        if (resp.data.status === 1) {
          this.emit("solved", {
            taskId,
            captchaId,
            solution: resp.data.request,
            duration: Date.now() - startTime,
          });
        } else if (resp.data.request === "CAPCHA_NOT_READY") {
          setTimeout(check, this.pollInterval);
        } else {
          this.emit("failed", {
            taskId,
            error: resp.data.request,
            duration: Date.now() - startTime,
          });
        }
      } catch (err) {
        this.emit("failed", {
          taskId,
          error: err.message,
          duration: Date.now() - startTime,
        });
      }
    };

    setTimeout(check, this.pollInterval);
  }
}

module.exports = CaptchaBus;

Registering Event Listeners

const CaptchaBus = require("./captcha-bus");

const bus = new CaptchaBus(process.env.CAPTCHAAI_API_KEY, {
  pollInterval: 5000,
  maxWait: 120000,
});

// Logging listener
bus.on("submitted", (e) => {
  console.log(`[SUBMIT] ${e.taskId} → ${e.method} on ${e.pageurl}`);
});

bus.on("pending", (e) => {
  console.log(`[PENDING] ${e.taskId} — ${(e.elapsed / 1000).toFixed(1)}s`);
});

bus.on("solved", (e) => {
  console.log(
    `[SOLVED] ${e.taskId} in ${(e.duration / 1000).toFixed(1)}s — ${e.solution.substring(0, 30)}...`
  );
});

bus.on("failed", (e) => {
  console.error(`[FAILED] ${e.taskId} — ${e.error}`);
});

bus.on("timeout", (e) => {
  console.error(
    `[TIMEOUT] ${e.taskId} after ${(e.elapsed / 1000).toFixed(1)}s`
  );
});

// Metrics listener
const metrics = { submitted: 0, solved: 0, failed: 0, totalDuration: 0 };

bus.on("submitted", () => metrics.submitted++);
bus.on("solved", (e) => {
  metrics.solved++;
  metrics.totalDuration += e.duration;
});
bus.on("failed", () => metrics.failed++);

// Submit a CAPTCHA
bus.submit({
  sitekey: "6Le-wvkSAAAAAPBMRTvw0Q4Muexq9bi0DJwx_mJ-",
  pageurl: "https://example.com",
});

Python Equivalent

import os
import time
import threading
from collections import defaultdict
import requests


class CaptchaBus:
    def __init__(self, api_key, poll_interval=5, max_wait=300):
        self.api_key = api_key
        self.poll_interval = poll_interval
        self.max_wait = max_wait
        self._listeners = defaultdict(list)

    def on(self, event, callback):
        """Register a listener for an event."""
        self._listeners[event].append(callback)
        return self

    def emit(self, event, data):
        """Emit an event to all registered listeners."""
        for callback in self._listeners.get(event, []):
            try:
                callback(data)
            except Exception as e:
                print(f"Listener error on {event}: {e}")

    def submit(self, sitekey, pageurl, method="userrecaptcha", **extra):
        """Submit a CAPTCHA and begin tracking."""
        task_id = f"task_{int(time.time())}_{id(sitekey) % 10000}"

        resp = requests.post("https://ocr.captchaai.com/in.php", data={
            "key": self.api_key,
            "method": method,
            "googlekey": sitekey,
            "pageurl": pageurl,
            "json": 1,
            **extra
        })
        data = resp.json()

        if data.get("status") != 1:
            self.emit("failed", {
                "task_id": task_id,
                "error": data.get("request"),
                "duration": 0
            })
            return None

        captcha_id = data["request"]
        start_time = time.time()

        self.emit("submitted", {
            "task_id": task_id,
            "captcha_id": captcha_id,
            "method": method,
            "pageurl": pageurl
        })

        # Poll in a background thread
        thread = threading.Thread(
            target=self._poll,
            args=(task_id, captcha_id, start_time),
            daemon=True
        )
        thread.start()
        return task_id

    def _poll(self, task_id, captcha_id, start_time):
        while True:
            elapsed = time.time() - start_time

            if elapsed > self.max_wait:
                self.emit("timeout", {"task_id": task_id, "elapsed": elapsed})
                return

            time.sleep(self.poll_interval)
            self.emit("pending", {"task_id": task_id, "elapsed": elapsed})

            resp = requests.get("https://ocr.captchaai.com/res.php", params={
                "key": self.api_key,
                "action": "get",
                "id": captcha_id,
                "json": 1
            })
            data = resp.json()

            if data.get("status") == 1:
                self.emit("solved", {
                    "task_id": task_id,
                    "solution": data["request"],
                    "duration": time.time() - start_time
                })
                return
            elif data.get("request") != "CAPCHA_NOT_READY":
                self.emit("failed", {
                    "task_id": task_id,
                    "error": data.get("request"),
                    "duration": time.time() - start_time
                })
                return


# Usage
bus = CaptchaBus(os.environ["CAPTCHAAI_API_KEY"])

bus.on("submitted", lambda e: print(f"[SUBMIT] {e['task_id']}"))
bus.on("solved", lambda e: print(f"[SOLVED] {e['task_id']} in {e['duration']:.1f}s"))
bus.on("failed", lambda e: print(f"[FAILED] {e['task_id']} — {e['error']}"))
bus.on("timeout", lambda e: print(f"[TIMEOUT] {e['task_id']}"))

bus.submit("6Le-wvkSAAAAAPBMRTvw0Q4Muexq9bi0DJwx_mJ-", "https://example.com")

Advanced: Retry Handler as Listener

// Automatic retry on failure
bus.on("failed", async (e) => {
  if (e.retryCount >= 3) {
    console.error(`[GIVE UP] ${e.taskId} after 3 retries`);
    return;
  }

  console.log(`[RETRY] ${e.taskId} — attempt ${(e.retryCount || 0) + 1}`);
  await bus.submit({
    ...e.originalParams,
    _retryCount: (e.retryCount || 0) + 1,
  });
});

Advanced: Promise Wrapper

Get a promise-based API on top of the event bus:

function solveCaptcha(bus, params) {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    const taskId = bus.submit(params);

    function onSolved(e) {
      if (e.taskId === taskId) {
        cleanup();
        resolve(e.solution);
      }
    }

    function onFailed(e) {
      if (e.taskId === taskId) {
        cleanup();
        reject(new Error(e.error));
      }
    }

    function cleanup() {
      bus.removeListener("solved", onSolved);
      bus.removeListener("failed", onFailed);
      bus.removeListener("timeout", onFailed);
    }

    bus.on("solved", onSolved);
    bus.on("failed", onFailed);
    bus.on("timeout", onFailed);
  });
}

// Usage
const solution = await solveCaptcha(bus, {
  sitekey: "6Le-wvkSAAAAAPBMRTvw0Q4Muexq9bi0DJwx_mJ-",
  pageurl: "https://example.com",
});

Troubleshooting

FAQ

Should I use an external message broker instead?

For single-process applications, an in-process event bus (EventEmitter) is simpler and faster. Use Kafka, RabbitMQ, or Redis when you have multiple processes or services that need to react to CAPTCHA events.

Can I persist events for debugging?

Yes. Add a listener that writes events to a JSONL file or database. This creates an audit trail without modifying the solving logic.

How do I test the event bus without calling CaptchaAI?

Mock the HTTP calls. The event bus is just an EventEmitter — you can call bus.emit("solved", {...}) directly in tests to verify listener behavior.

Related Articles

• Building Client Captcha Pipelines Captchaai
• Benchmarking Captcha Solve Times Captchaai
• Building Responsible Automation Captchaai

Next Steps

Build event-driven CAPTCHA pipelines — get your CaptchaAI API key and wire up your event bus.

Related guides:

• Callback URL and Webhook Guide
• SSE for Real-Time Notifications
• Callback Error Handling Patterns