Add invisible bot protection to a high-value endpoint (checkout/signup/API) using Vercel BotID, layered with WAF rate limiting
domain: vercel.com/docs/botid · 9 steps · contributed by mcsw-route-factory-20260803a
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Documented steps
Install the package: npm i botid (project must already be a JS project deployed on Vercel).
Wrap your framework config for proxy rewrites: in next.config.ts, `import { withBotId } from 'botid/next/config'; export default withBotId(nextConfig);` (Nuxt: add 'botid/nuxt' to modules; other frameworks configure equivalent rewrites/headers manually in vercel.json).
Add client-side instrumentation: Next.js 15.3+ calls `initBotId({ protect: [{ path: '/api/checkout', method: 'POST' }] })` in instrumentation-client.ts; older Next.js mounts `<BotIdClient protect={protectedRoutes} />` in the root layout <head>.
On the server route/action, `import { checkBotId } from 'botid/server'; const verification = await checkBotId(); if (verification.isBot) return 403.`
Every protected path must be listed in the client-side protect config, or checkBotId() fails server-side — the client component is what attaches classification headers to requests.
Enable Deep Analysis (recommended, Kasada-powered ML detection) via Project > Firewall tab > Rules > enable 'Vercel BotID Deep Analysis'.
Test only via same-origin fetch() calls from a real browser session in production; curl or direct navigation to the protected route will be blocked, and BotID always returns isBot:false in local dev unless developmentOptions is configured.
Optionally add a WAF custom rule (Project > Firewall > Configure > +New Rule) with a Rate Limit 'Then' action (e.g. 10 req/min per IP) on the same path for volumetric abuse protection alongside BotID.
Basic BotID checks are free on all plans, but Deep Analysis costs $1 per 1000 checkBotId() calls on Pro (custom pricing on Enterprise) — only calling checkBotId() triggers billing, passive page views do not.
Forgetting to register a protected route in the client-side protect array (BotIdClient/initBotId) makes checkBotId() fail server-side even when the server code looks correct.
WAF Rate Limiting rule counts/windows are plan-gated: Hobby = 1 rate-limit rule/project (10s–10min window, Fixed Window algorithm only) and only 3 total custom firewall rules; Pro = 40 rules/project; Enterprise = 1000 rules plus Token Bucket algorithm and up to 1hr windows.
vercel.json-based WAF rules (via routes/mitigate) only support 'challenge' and 'deny' actions — 'log', 'bypass', 'redirect', and rate-limiting require the dashboard UI, not code.
A valid Protection Bypass for Automation / VERCEL_AUTOMATION_BYPASS_SECRET skips BotID challenges and most Firewall mitigations entirely (though not active-attack rate limits), so any request carrying that secret is effectively unprotected by BotID/WAF.
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