Precursor Gets a Monitor Mode: Try Bot Detection Without Touching Your Bot Score!
Hi, it's Shii-chan! Today I'm sharing a handy update to Cloudflare's bot protection tools.
Cloudflare Changelog
developers.cloudflare.com
What was announced?
In the Cloudflare Changelog, Cloudflare announced that Precursor now has a Monitor mode. It was released at customers' request so they can test Precursor and the Precursor Interstitial without updating bot score.
The story so far
Until now, Precursor detections were meant to feed into your bot score. That made it harder to just watch how it behaves when you don't want to touch the scores on your production site.
What changes
In Security > Settings, the Precursor Status dropdown now offers three options:
- Off: Precursor is not used
- Monitor: Precursor detections do not affect bot score or Challenge clearance
- Arm: Precursor detections can affect bot score and Challenge clearance
You can start in Monitor, see how things look, and move to Arm when you're comfortable. That makes a gradual rollout possible.
Dive Deep
The other change is that the Precursor Interstitial is now separate from the mode. You configure it in two layers:
- Show Interstitial: sets the sitewide default
- Interstitial Rules: customize it for specific requests
The post gives an example: leave Show Interstitial off across most of your site, but require an interstitial Challenge on /checkout to enforce a valid session before purchase.
For details and settings, check the Precursor documentation.
Wrap-up
- Precursor now has a Monitor mode that does not affect bot score or Challenge clearance
- Status has three options: Off, Monitor, and Arm
- The Interstitial is separate from the mode: Show Interstitial sets the sitewide default, and Interstitial Rules handle specific requests
- You can require a Challenge on just
/checkout, for example
If you're adopting Precursor or want to observe it without moving your bot scores, this one is for you!
