CAPTCHA Solving Audit Logs: Tracking Solve Requests for Compliance

When your organization solves thousands of CAPTCHAs daily, you need a record of every request. Audit logs answer questions like: Who triggered this solve? What site was it for? How much did it cost? When did it happen? This guide shows how to implement comprehensive audit logging for CaptchaAI operations.

What to Log

Every CAPTCHA solve should record:

Do not log: API keys, CAPTCHA tokens (they're temporary), or personally identifiable information from target sites.

Python Implementation

# audit_solver.py
import os
import uuid
import time
import json
import logging
from datetime import datetime, timezone
import requests

API_KEY = os.environ.get("CAPTCHAAI_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")

# Configure audit logger — separate from application logs
audit_logger = logging.getLogger("captcha_audit")
audit_logger.setLevel(logging.INFO)

# File handler with rotation
from logging.handlers import RotatingFileHandler
handler = RotatingFileHandler(
    "captcha_audit.jsonl",
    maxBytes=50_000_000,  # 50 MB per file
    backupCount=10,
)
handler.setFormatter(logging.Formatter("%(message)s"))
audit_logger.addHandler(handler)

def log_audit(record):
    """Write a structured audit record."""
    audit_logger.info(json.dumps(record, default=str))

def solve_with_audit(sitekey, pageurl, captcha_type="userrecaptcha",
                      initiator="unknown"):
    """Solve a CAPTCHA with full audit logging."""
    request_id = str(uuid.uuid4())
    start = time.time()

    audit_record = {
        "request_id": request_id,
        "timestamp": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
        "captcha_type": captcha_type,
        "target_site": pageurl,
        "initiator": initiator,
        "status": "submitted",
    }

    session = requests.Session()

    try:
        # Submit
        resp = session.get("https://ocr.captchaai.com/in.php", params={
            "key": API_KEY,
            "method": captcha_type,
            "googlekey": sitekey,
            "pageurl": pageurl,
            "json": "1",
        })
        result = resp.json()

        if result.get("status") != 1:
            audit_record.update({
                "status": "submit_failed",
                "error_code": result.get("request"),
                "solve_time_ms": int((time.time() - start) * 1000),
            })
            log_audit(audit_record)
            return None

        task_id = result["request"]
        audit_record["task_id"] = task_id

        # Poll
        time.sleep(15)
        for _ in range(25):
            poll = session.get("https://ocr.captchaai.com/res.php", params={
                "key": API_KEY, "action": "get",
                "id": task_id, "json": "1",
            })
            poll_result = poll.json()

            if poll_result.get("status") == 1:
                solve_time = int((time.time() - start) * 1000)
                audit_record.update({
                    "status": "solved",
                    "solve_time_ms": solve_time,
                    "cost_estimate": 0.003,  # Adjust per your rate
                })
                log_audit(audit_record)
                return poll_result["request"]

            if poll_result.get("request") != "CAPCHA_NOT_READY":
                audit_record.update({
                    "status": "failed",
                    "error_code": poll_result.get("request"),
                    "solve_time_ms": int((time.time() - start) * 1000),
                })
                log_audit(audit_record)
                return None

            time.sleep(5)

        audit_record.update({
            "status": "timeout",
            "solve_time_ms": int((time.time() - start) * 1000),
        })
        log_audit(audit_record)
        return None

    except Exception as e:
        audit_record.update({
            "status": "error",
            "error_code": str(e)[:200],
            "solve_time_ms": int((time.time() - start) * 1000),
        })
        log_audit(audit_record)
        raise

# Usage
token = solve_with_audit(
    sitekey="6Le-wvkSAAAAAPBMRTvw0Q4Muexq9bi0DJwx_mJ-",
    pageurl="https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api2/demo",
    initiator="price-scraper-v2",
)

Audit Log Output (JSONL format)

{"request_id":"a1b2c3d4-...","timestamp":"2026-04-04T14:30:00+00:00","captcha_type":"userrecaptcha","target_site":"https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api2/demo","initiator":"price-scraper-v2","status":"solved","task_id":"73829451","solve_time_ms":18432,"cost_estimate":0.003}

JavaScript Implementation

// audit_solver.js
const fs = require('fs');
const { v4: uuidv4 } = require('uuid');
const axios = require('axios');

const API_KEY = process.env.CAPTCHAAI_KEY || 'YOUR_API_KEY';
const AUDIT_FILE = 'captcha_audit.jsonl';

function logAudit(record) {
  fs.appendFileSync(AUDIT_FILE, JSON.stringify(record) + '\n');
}

async function solveWithAudit(sitekey, pageurl, initiator = 'unknown') {
  const requestId = uuidv4();
  const start = Date.now();
  const record = {
    request_id: requestId,
    timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
    captcha_type: 'userrecaptcha',
    target_site: pageurl,
    initiator,
    status: 'submitted',
  };

  try {
    const submit = await axios.get('https://ocr.captchaai.com/in.php', {
      params: {
        key: API_KEY, method: 'userrecaptcha',
        googlekey: sitekey, pageurl, json: '1',
      },
    });

    if (submit.data.status !== 1) {
      record.status = 'submit_failed';
      record.error_code = submit.data.request;
      record.solve_time_ms = Date.now() - start;
      logAudit(record);
      return null;
    }

    record.task_id = submit.data.request;
    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 15000));

    for (let i = 0; i < 25; i++) {
      const poll = await axios.get('https://ocr.captchaai.com/res.php', {
        params: { key: API_KEY, action: 'get', id: submit.data.request, json: '1' },
      });

      if (poll.data.status === 1) {
        record.status = 'solved';
        record.solve_time_ms = Date.now() - start;
        record.cost_estimate = 0.003;
        logAudit(record);
        return poll.data.request;
      }
      if (poll.data.request !== 'CAPCHA_NOT_READY') {
        record.status = 'failed';
        record.error_code = poll.data.request;
        record.solve_time_ms = Date.now() - start;
        logAudit(record);
        return null;
      }
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 5000));
    }

    record.status = 'timeout';
    record.solve_time_ms = Date.now() - start;
    logAudit(record);
    return null;
  } catch (e) {
    record.status = 'error';
    record.error_code = e.message.slice(0, 200);
    record.solve_time_ms = Date.now() - start;
    logAudit(record);
    throw e;
  }
}

Querying Audit Logs

Daily Summary

import json
from collections import Counter
from datetime import date

def daily_summary(log_file, target_date=None):
    """Generate a daily summary from audit logs."""
    target = target_date or date.today().isoformat()
    statuses = Counter()
    total_cost = 0
    solve_times = []

    with open(log_file) as f:
        for line in f:
            record = json.loads(line)
            if record["timestamp"].startswith(target):
                statuses[record["status"]] += 1
                total_cost += record.get("cost_estimate", 0)
                if record.get("solve_time_ms"):
                    solve_times.append(record["solve_time_ms"])

    print(f"Date: {target}")
    print(f"Total requests: {sum(statuses.values())}")
    print(f"Statuses: {dict(statuses)}")
    print(f"Estimated cost: ${total_cost:.2f}")
    if solve_times:
        print(f"Median solve time: {sorted(solve_times)[len(solve_times)//2]}ms")

daily_summary("captcha_audit.jsonl")

Retention and Storage

Troubleshooting

FAQ

Should I log the CAPTCHA token in the audit trail?

No. Tokens are temporary (expire in 60–300 seconds) and have no audit value. Logging them increases storage without benefit.

Can I use audit logs for billing reconciliation?

Yes. Compare your audit log totals against CaptchaAI's usage dashboard to verify billing accuracy.

What retention period should I set?

90 days is standard for operational audit logs. For compliance-driven logging, check your industry's requirements (SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA).

Related Articles

• Dynamodb Serverless Captcha Solve Tracking

Next Steps

Add accountability to every CAPTCHA solve — get your CaptchaAI API key.

Related guides:

• Usage Dashboard Monitoring
• Structured Logging
• Balance Check and Auto-Refill