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How to read pages that block simple scrapers with Donsetch

Use DonSeTch's stealth fetch and browser escalation to read pages that serve bot walls.

  • Research
  • Advanced
  • 30 minutes
  • From the README
  • Any agent

Authorization notice. Donsetch is dual-use. Only use it on software, sites and systems you own or have explicit permission to test.

Reverse engineering. The stealth TLS and browser challenge handling is built to get past bot walls, so check the target site's terms and access rules before automated reading.

Who it is forA researcher or analyst whose agent gets blocked or challenged when fetching public web pages with a plain HTTP client.

The problemPlain fetches return challenge pages instead of the content a person sees in a browser.

The outcomeThe agent retrieves the page text after DonSeTch's fetch tiers handle the challenge.

What you need first

  • npm or Homebrew to install the binary
  • An MCP-capable client such as Claude Code or Cursor, or the standalone CLI
  • Network access to the sites you want to read
  • Optional: a Chromium, Playwright-cached Chromium or Edge build for tier-2 browser escalation

Steps

  1. Run npm install -g donsetch
  2. Run donsetch doctor --deep to launch a real browser and run live probes
  3. Ask your MCP client to fetch the blocked URL
  4. Check that the returned text is the article, not a challenge page

Prompt for your agent

Using the donsetch MCP server, fetch <URL> and return the main article text. Confirm the response is page content rather than a bot challenge, and state which fetch tier succeeded if the output says so.

Caveat. Browser escalation needs a discoverable Chromium, Playwright-cached build or Edge, because Chromium is optional and used only for tier-2 escalation.

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