Skip to content
Emergency helpGet started
Managed Cloudflare bot management

Cloudflare Bot Management, tuned and operated

Cloudflare Bot Management gives every request a bot score from 1 to 99, so you can challenge or block automation where it does harm and let customers, APIs and good bots through. Vigilbase deploys it, writes the rules and tunes them when traffic changes.
Email a Cloudflare expertCompare packages

What is Cloudflare Bot Management?

Cloudflare Bot Management for Enterprise is a paid add-on that scores every request for how likely it is to come from a bot. Its detection engines include heuristics, machine learning and JavaScript detections, and WAF custom rules and Workers can act on the score.

Cloudflare has three bot products. Bot Fight Mode on Free and Super Bot Fight Mode on Pro, Business and Enterprise protect the whole domain against traffic that matches known bot patterns, with Super Bot Fight Mode adding configurable actions per bot category, bot analytics and exceptions. Bot Management adds per-request bot scores, JA3/JA4 fingerprints, bot tags and detection IDs, and replaces the other two when it is enabled.

Scores are signals, not verdicts. Bot rules that challenge API, mobile app or payment callback traffic can break legitimate integrations, and scores shift as Cloudflare's model learns, so the rules need periodic review.

How Cloudflare bot detection works

Bot Management scores each request and leaves the decision to rules you control.

A bot score from 1 to 99

A score of 1 is automated, 2 to 29 is likely automated and 30 to 99 is likely human. A score of 0 means Bot Management did not evaluate the request; it does not mean the request is safe or human.

Several detection engines

Heuristics match requests against known malicious fingerprints. Adaptive Intelligence, Cloudflare's machine learning engine, accounts for most bot detections. JavaScript detections catch headless browsers and other automation tools.

Verified bots

Cloudflare verifies bots and agents that are transparent about who they are and what they do, such as search engine crawlers and monitoring services. Rules can let verified bots through while challenging other automation.

Rules that act on the score

WAF custom rules and Workers can use the score, so a login page can challenge low-scoring requests while a public blog allows them. The bot settings themselves offer Block, Managed Challenge and Allow.

JavaScript detections

JavaScript detections run in the visitor's browser and record the result. On their own they block nothing, so your rules decide the action; Cloudflare advises Managed Challenge, in case a legitimate user did not receive the check. API and mobile app traffic is not affected.

AI crawlers

Every Cloudflare plan can block AI bots and agents based on their behavior, and AI Crawl Control shows which AI services are accessing your content.

Which Cloudflare plans include bot protection

Every plan has a bot product. Per-request bot scores need Bot Management for Enterprise.
PlanWhat it includes
FreeBot Fight Mode: it identifies traffic matching known bot patterns and issues challenges. It cannot be bypassed or skipped with WAF custom rules or Page Rules, and it may challenge API or mobile app traffic.
ProSuper Bot Fight Mode, with configurable actions per bot category, bot analytics and exceptions through WAF custom rules. Blocking or challenging the likely automated range is not available on Pro.
BusinessSuper Bot Fight Mode, plus the option to block or challenge likely automated traffic.
EnterpriseSuper Bot Fight Mode, or Bot Management for Enterprise as a paid add-on: per-request bot scores, JA3/JA4 fingerprints, bot tags and detection IDs for WAF custom rules and Workers. Enabling it replaces the other bot products.

Bot Management for Enterprise is enabled through Cloudflare's account team, so Vigilbase scopes it with your Cloudflare Enterprise licence. Vigilbase Shield includes Super Bot Fight Mode; Enterprise Bot Management is a separate product with its own scope.

Cloudflare plan prices, Free to Enterprise →
Managed Cloudflare

What Vigilbase does when it operates Cloudflare bot management

Vigilbase sells the Cloudflare licence and runs the account, or takes over an account you already have after a review. Agents apply safe changes within the authority you agree and verify the result; security analysts review anything that could disrupt production, users or access.

  • Deploy and tune the bot controls

    We deploy the bot product your plan includes and tune it on the accounts we operate. Bot settings change when a campaign spikes traffic, so tuning is part of the operation, not a one-time setup.

  • Separate customers from automated abuse

    Before changing a control, we review the affected customer journey and distinguish legitimate customers from automated abuse, using the bot score, verified bot status and the request evidence.

  • Keep integrations working

    A challenge on a browser page behaves differently from one on an API request or a payment callback. We confirm an integration's documented authentication before exempting it; a route name or claimed user agent is not evidence.

  • Verify the journey after each change

    After an adjustment we follow the journey to the point that proves success, such as payment status and order creation, and keep watching the path after the first good test.

  • Review rules as scores shift

    Cloudflare's bot scores can shift as its model learns, so bot rules and temporary exceptions get a review date instead of staying in place indefinitely.

  • Coverage set by your package

    Core is business-hours governance and change management, with best-effort response. Priority adds 24/7 operations, active threat mitigation within the SLA and a named technical account manager. Critical adds immediate escalation and senior incident leadership.

Compare Core, Priority and CriticalCoverage and incident response commitments

Common bot problems Vigilbase handles

Bot trouble usually arrives as a customer complaint, not as a bot alert.

Customers challenged at checkout

A campaign spike gets blamed on bots while real customers hit a challenge they cannot pass. We find the control that acted and make the smallest adjustment the evidence supports.

APIs and mobile apps broken by challenges

Bot Fight Mode and Super Bot Fight Mode may challenge API or mobile app traffic, which cannot solve a challenge. We scope bot rules so integrations keep working without opening the door to abuse.

Good bots blocked

Static resource protection and broad rules can block good bots, such as mail clients that fetch images. We let verified bots through deliberately and check what each rule actually catches.

Corporate traffic scored as automated

A missing User-Agent header earns a bot score of 1, a common false-positive trigger for Zero Trust (WARP) or corporate proxy traffic. We check for it before tightening rules.

Automated abuse that becomes an incident

The agreed package names who leads the incident. If the site is not behind Cloudflare yet, emergency onboarding moves exposed web traffic there first and then stabilizes bot and DDoS issues.

When to request Cloudflare emergency help →

Vigilbase OS

Cloudflare bot management in Vigilbase OS

Vigilbase OS, the cybersecurity operating system, connects the security tools you already pay for and keeps their logs and events auditable and queryable in one place. Its native Cloudflare integration puts your Cloudflare events next to those tools, and the Vigil agent investigates high-severity incidents while Vigilbase analysts handle exceptions.

Cloudflare is the provider where live response actions run today. You choose the autonomy: keep actions off, propose them for approval, or allow low-risk, reversible actions to run. The record shows the investigation, the actions taken and the verification. For providers without live actions, the investigation returns the steps for your team to complete.

Get started with Vigilbase OS

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Bot Fight Mode, Super Bot Fight Mode and Bot Management?

Bot Fight Mode is the Free plan option and cannot be skipped with rules. Super Bot Fight Mode, on Pro, Business and Enterprise, adds actions per bot category, bot analytics and exceptions. Bot Management for Enterprise adds per-request bot scores and replaces the other two when enabled.Application and API protectionCloudflare Enterprise licensing explained

How does Cloudflare detect bots?

Cloudflare combines detection engines: heuristics that match known malicious fingerprints, Adaptive Intelligence machine learning, which accounts for most bot detections, and JavaScript detections that catch headless browsers and other automation tools.Application and API protection

Will bot protection block our APIs or mobile app?

It can. Cloudflare notes that Bot Fight Mode and Super Bot Fight Mode may challenge API or mobile app traffic, and a missing User-Agent header gets a bot score of 1. Scope bot rules by route and check integrations before enforcing them.Confirm an integration's documented authentication before exempting it. A route name or claimed user agent is not evidence that a request comes from a trusted service.Application and API protectionHow we run Cloudflare after go-live

Do you operate Cloudflare bot management outside business hours?

Yes, on Priority and Critical. Bot settings change when campaigns spike. We tune them on the accounts we operate, including outside business hours.Review the affected customer journey and distinguish legitimate customers from automated abuse before changing controls. The account scope, permissions, and operating package determine which changes Vigilbase can make and when analysts need to handle an exception.Application and API protectionCompare Core, Priority and Critical

Sources

Cloudflare bot product details on this page are summarized from Cloudflare's documentation. Plans, detections and add-ons change, so confirm current terms with Cloudflare or with us before you buy.

Vendor sources checked

Stop bots without stopping customers

Tell us which journeys attract automation and which integrations must keep working. We will scope Bot Management, the rules and the operating coverage together.

Email a Cloudflare expertUnder attack? Get emergency onboarding help