PowerShell is the default automation tool on Windows. System administrators, QA engineers, and DevOps teams use it for web testing, form automation, and monitoring. When these scripts hit CAPTCHAs, CaptchaAI's HTTP API integrates directly through Invoke-RestMethod — no modules to install.
This guide covers reCAPTCHA v2/v3, Cloudflare Turnstile, and image CAPTCHA solving with production-ready PowerShell functions and scripts.
Why PowerShell for CAPTCHA Automation
- Built into Windows — no installation needed (PowerShell 5.1+)
- Invoke-RestMethod — native REST API support with automatic JSON parsing
- Task Scheduler — schedule CAPTCHA-dependent scripts natively
- Pipeline-friendly — chain solving with downstream automation
- Cross-platform — PowerShell 7+ runs on Linux and macOS too
Prerequisites
- PowerShell 5.1 (Windows) or PowerShell 7+ (cross-platform)
- CaptchaAI API key (get one here)
- No additional modules required
Basic Solver Functions
Submit Task
function Submit-CaptchaTask {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$ApiKey,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[hashtable]$TaskParams
)
$body = @{
key = $ApiKey
json = 1
} + $TaskParams
$response = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://ocr.captchaai.com/in.php" `
-Method Post `
-Body $body `
-ContentType "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
if ($response.status -ne 1) {
throw "Submit failed: $($response.request)"
}
return $response.request
}
Poll Result
function Get-CaptchaResult {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$ApiKey,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$TaskId,
[int]$MaxWaitSeconds = 300,
[int]$PollIntervalSeconds = 5
)
$deadline = (Get-Date).AddSeconds($MaxWaitSeconds)
while ((Get-Date) -lt $deadline) {
Start-Sleep -Seconds $PollIntervalSeconds
$response = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://ocr.captchaai.com/res.php" `
-Method Get `
-Body @{
key = $ApiKey
action = "get"
id = $TaskId
json = 1
}
if ($response.request -eq "CAPCHA_NOT_READY") {
Write-Verbose "Waiting for solution..."
continue
}
if ($response.status -ne 1) {
throw "Solve failed: $($response.request)"
}
return $response.request
}
throw "Timeout: CAPTCHA not solved within $MaxWaitSeconds seconds"
}
Solving reCAPTCHA v2
function Solve-RecaptchaV2 {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$ApiKey,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$SiteUrl,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$SiteKey
)
Write-Host "Submitting reCAPTCHA v2 task..."
$taskId = Submit-CaptchaTask -ApiKey $ApiKey -TaskParams @{
method = "userrecaptcha"
googlekey = $SiteKey
pageurl = $SiteUrl
}
Write-Host "Task ID: $taskId"
Write-Host "Polling for solution..."
$token = Get-CaptchaResult -ApiKey $ApiKey -TaskId $taskId
Write-Host "Solved! Token: $($token.Substring(0, [Math]::Min(50, $token.Length)))..."
return $token
}
# Usage
$apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY"
$token = Solve-RecaptchaV2 `
-ApiKey $apiKey `
-SiteUrl "https://example.com/login" `
-SiteKey "6Le-wvkSAAAAAPBMRTvw0Q4Muexq9bi0DJwx_mJ-"
Solving Cloudflare Turnstile
function Solve-Turnstile {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$ApiKey,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$SiteUrl,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$SiteKey
)
$taskId = Submit-CaptchaTask -ApiKey $ApiKey -TaskParams @{
method = "turnstile"
key = $SiteKey
pageurl = $SiteUrl
}
return Get-CaptchaResult -ApiKey $ApiKey -TaskId $taskId
}
# Usage
$token = Solve-Turnstile `
-ApiKey "YOUR_API_KEY" `
-SiteUrl "https://example.com/form" `
-SiteKey "0x4AAAAAAAB5..."
Solving reCAPTCHA v3
function Solve-RecaptchaV3 {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$ApiKey,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$SiteUrl,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$SiteKey,
[string]$Action = "verify",
[double]$MinScore = 0.7
)
$taskId = Submit-CaptchaTask -ApiKey $ApiKey -TaskParams @{
method = "userrecaptcha"
googlekey = $SiteKey
pageurl = $SiteUrl
version = "v3"
action = $Action
min_score = $MinScore
}
return Get-CaptchaResult -ApiKey $ApiKey -TaskId $taskId
}
Solving Image CAPTCHAs
function Solve-ImageCaptcha {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$ApiKey,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$ImagePath
)
if (-not (Test-Path $ImagePath)) {
throw "Image file not found: $ImagePath"
}
$imageBytes = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes($ImagePath)
$base64 = [Convert]::ToBase64String($imageBytes)
$taskId = Submit-CaptchaTask -ApiKey $ApiKey -TaskParams @{
method = "base64"
body = $base64
}
return Get-CaptchaResult -ApiKey $ApiKey -TaskId $taskId
}
# Usage
$text = Solve-ImageCaptcha -ApiKey "YOUR_API_KEY" -ImagePath "C:\captcha.png"
Write-Host "CAPTCHA text: $text"
From URL
function Solve-ImageCaptchaFromUrl {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$ApiKey,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$ImageUrl
)
$imageBytes = (Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $ImageUrl).Content
$base64 = [Convert]::ToBase64String($imageBytes)
$taskId = Submit-CaptchaTask -ApiKey $ApiKey -TaskParams @{
method = "base64"
body = $base64
}
return Get-CaptchaResult -ApiKey $ApiKey -TaskId $taskId
}
Complete Solver Module
Save as CaptchaAI.psm1:
class CaptchaAISolver {
[string]$ApiKey
[string]$BaseUrl = "https://ocr.captchaai.com"
[int]$PollInterval = 5
[int]$MaxWait = 300
CaptchaAISolver([string]$apiKey) {
$this.ApiKey = $apiKey
}
[string] SolveRecaptchaV2([string]$siteUrl, [string]$siteKey) {
return $this.Solve(@{
method = "userrecaptcha"
googlekey = $siteKey
pageurl = $siteUrl
})
}
[string] SolveTurnstile([string]$siteUrl, [string]$siteKey) {
return $this.Solve(@{
method = "turnstile"
key = $siteKey
pageurl = $siteUrl
})
}
[string] SolveImage([string]$imagePath) {
$bytes = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes($imagePath)
$base64 = [Convert]::ToBase64String($bytes)
return $this.Solve(@{
method = "base64"
body = $base64
})
}
[double] GetBalance() {
$response = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$($this.BaseUrl)/res.php" `
-Body @{ key = $this.ApiKey; action = "getbalance"; json = 1 }
return [double]$response.request
}
hidden [string] Solve([hashtable]$params) {
$taskId = $this.Submit($params)
return $this.Poll($taskId)
}
hidden [string] Submit([hashtable]$params) {
$body = @{ key = $this.ApiKey; json = 1 } + $params
$response = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$($this.BaseUrl)/in.php" `
-Method Post -Body $body
if ($response.status -ne 1) { throw "Submit: $($response.request)" }
return $response.request
}
hidden [string] Poll([string]$taskId) {
$deadline = (Get-Date).AddSeconds($this.MaxWait)
while ((Get-Date) -lt $deadline) {
Start-Sleep -Seconds $this.PollInterval
$response = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$($this.BaseUrl)/res.php" `
-Body @{ key = $this.ApiKey; action = "get"; id = $taskId; json = 1 }
if ($response.request -eq "CAPCHA_NOT_READY") { continue }
if ($response.status -ne 1) { throw "Solve: $($response.request)" }
return $response.request
}
throw "Timeout"
}
}
# Export
Export-ModuleMember
Using the Module
using module .\CaptchaAI.psm1
$solver = [CaptchaAISolver]::new("YOUR_API_KEY")
# Check balance
$balance = $solver.GetBalance()
Write-Host "Balance: `$$balance"
# Solve reCAPTCHA v2
$token = $solver.SolveRecaptchaV2("https://example.com/login", "SITEKEY")
Write-Host "Token: $($token.Substring(0, 50))..."
Submitting Forms with Solved Tokens
function Submit-FormWithToken {
param(
[string]$Url,
[string]$Token,
[hashtable]$FormData
)
$body = $FormData + @{
"g-recaptcha-response" = $Token
}
$response = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $Url `
-Method Post `
-Body $body `
-ContentType "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
return $response
}
# Usage
$token = Solve-RecaptchaV2 -ApiKey "YOUR_API_KEY" `
-SiteUrl "https://example.com/login" `
-SiteKey "SITEKEY"
$result = Submit-FormWithToken `
-Url "https://example.com/login" `
-Token $token `
-FormData @{
username = "user@example.com"
password = "password"
}
Write-Host "Response: $($result.StatusCode)"
Parallel Solving with Jobs
$apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY"
$tasks = @(
@{ Url = "https://site-a.com"; Key = "SITEKEY_A" },
@{ Url = "https://site-b.com"; Key = "SITEKEY_B" },
@{ Url = "https://site-c.com"; Key = "SITEKEY_C" }
)
$jobs = $tasks | ForEach-Object {
$task = $_
Start-Job -ScriptBlock {
param($ApiKey, $Url, $SiteKey)
$taskId = (Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://ocr.captchaai.com/in.php" -Method Post -Body @{
key = $ApiKey; json = 1; method = "userrecaptcha"
googlekey = $SiteKey; pageurl = $Url
}).request
$deadline = (Get-Date).AddSeconds(300)
while ((Get-Date) -lt $deadline) {
Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
$result = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://ocr.captchaai.com/res.php" -Body @{
key = $ApiKey; action = "get"; id = $taskId; json = 1
}
if ($result.request -ne "CAPCHA_NOT_READY" -and $result.status -eq 1) {
return @{ Url = $Url; Token = $result.request }
}
}
return @{ Url = $Url; Error = "Timeout" }
} -ArgumentList $apiKey, $task.Url, $task.Key
}
# Wait and collect results
$results = $jobs | Wait-Job | Receive-Job
$results | ForEach-Object {
if ($_.Token) {
Write-Host "$($_.Url): $($_.Token.Substring(0, 50))..."
} else {
Write-Host "$($_.Url): $($_.Error)" -ForegroundColor Red
}
}
$jobs | Remove-Job
Retry with Error Handling
function Solve-WithRetry {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string]$ApiKey,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[hashtable]$TaskParams,
[int]$MaxRetries = 3
)
$retryableErrors = @(
"ERROR_NO_SLOT_AVAILABLE",
"ERROR_CAPTCHA_UNSOLVABLE"
)
for ($attempt = 0; $attempt -le $MaxRetries; $attempt++) {
if ($attempt -gt 0) {
$delay = [Math]::Pow(2, $attempt) + (Get-Random -Maximum 3)
Write-Host "Retry $attempt/$MaxRetries after $($delay)s..."
Start-Sleep -Seconds $delay
}
try {
$taskId = Submit-CaptchaTask -ApiKey $ApiKey -TaskParams $TaskParams
$result = Get-CaptchaResult -ApiKey $ApiKey -TaskId $taskId
return $result
}
catch {
$errorMsg = $_.Exception.Message
$isRetryable = $retryableErrors | Where-Object { $errorMsg -like "*$_*" }
if (-not $isRetryable -or $attempt -eq $MaxRetries) {
throw
}
Write-Warning "Retryable error: $errorMsg"
}
}
}
Scheduled Task Integration
# Create a scheduled task that runs CAPTCHA automation daily
$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction `
-Execute "powershell.exe" `
-Argument "-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Scripts\captcha-automation.ps1"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At "08:00"
Register-ScheduledTask `
-TaskName "CaptchaAutomation" `
-Action $action `
-Trigger $trigger `
-Description "Run daily CAPTCHA automation with CaptchaAI"
Troubleshooting
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
ERROR_WRONG_USER_KEY |
Invalid API key | Verify key at dashboard |
ERROR_ZERO_BALANCE |
No funds | Top up account |
Invoke-RestMethod: SSL/TLS |
TLS version mismatch | Add [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12 |
The response content cannot be parsed |
Non-JSON response | Use Invoke-WebRequest and parse manually |
Execution policy error |
Script blocked | Run Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSigned |
Cannot convert to double |
Balance parse error | Use [double]::Parse($response.request) |
FAQ
Does this work with PowerShell 5.1 and 7+?
Yes. Both Invoke-RestMethod and Invoke-WebRequest work in PowerShell 5.1 (Windows built-in) and PowerShell 7+ (cross-platform).
Do I need any modules installed?
No. CaptchaAI's REST API works with built-in PowerShell cmdlets. No external modules required.
Can I use this in CI/CD pipelines?
Yes. PowerShell runs in Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, and Jenkins. Store the API key as a secret variable.
How do I handle TLS errors?
Add [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12 at the top of your script.
Related Guides
Automate CAPTCHAs from the Windows command line — get your API key and start scripting.
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