crawlforge-stealth-browsing

CrawlForge Stealth Browsing

Get past bot-detection systems and geo-blocks. Use stealth_mode when a normal scrape is blocked, and localization when you need region-specific content, pricing, or locale emulation.

When to escalate to stealth_mode

Escalate from a normal scrape / fetch_url (see crawlforge-web-scraping) when:

• The site returns 403 or 429 on a regular fetch.
• You get a CAPTCHA or a "please enable JavaScript" interstitial.
• Content comes back empty or only a shell (JS-rendered SPA).
• The site uses Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX, or similar protection.

stealth_mode drives a real browser with randomized fingerprints, human behavior simulation, and WebRTC/canvas/WebGL spoofing.

When you already know the site blocks, scrape with escalate: true does both steps in one call: the plain fetch first, then the same stealth browser only if that fetch is walled. Projected at 7, charged 2 when the plain fetch worked. Still never reach for stealth_mode first.

stealth_mode (cost: 5)

stealth_mode is operation-based. Typical flow: create a context, then create a page that navigates to the target URL.

{
  "tool": "stealth_mode",
  "params": {
    "operation": "create_context",
    "stealthConfig": { "level": "advanced", "simulateHumanBehavior": true },
    "engine": "playwright"
  }
}

Then use the returned contextId:

{
  "tool": "stealth_mode",
  "params": { "operation": "create_page", "contextId": "<id-from-create_context>", "urlToTest": "https://protected-site.com" }
}

Operations: configure, enable, disable, create_context, create_page, get_stats, cleanup. stealthConfig.level is basic / medium (default) / advanced. Always run cleanup when done to release the browser.

Engine: playwright vs camoufox

• engine:"playwright" (default) — Chromium with stealth patches. Fast, good for most basic bot detection.
• engine:"camoufox" — Firefox-based with native anti-detection (no patches). Scores higher against DataDome / Cloudflare / PerimeterX and on CreepJS. Use for heavily protected, financial, or e-commerce sites.