HATCHA
CAPTCHA proves you're human. HATCHA proves you're not.
HATCHA (Hyperfast Agent Test for Computational Heuristic Assessment) is a reverse CAPTCHA that gates access behind challenges trivial for AI agents but painful for humans — large-number multiplication, string reversal, binary decoding, and more.
- Server-side verification — answers never reach the client. HMAC-signed tokens, stateless, no database required.
- 5 built-in challenge types — math, string reversal, character counting, sorting, binary decode.
- Extensible — register custom challenge generators at runtime.
- Themeable — dark, light, or auto mode via CSS custom properties.
- Framework adapters — Next.js App Router and Express middleware out of the box.
Quickstart (Next.js)
1. Install
npm install @mondaycom/hatcha-react @mondaycom/hatcha-server
2. Add the API route
// app/api/hatcha/[...hatcha]/route.ts
import { createHatchaHandler } from "@mondaycom/hatcha-server/nextjs";
const handler = createHatchaHandler({
secret: process.env.HATCHA_SECRET!,
});
export const GET = handler;
export const POST = handler;
3. Wrap your layout
// app/layout.tsx
import { HatchaProvider } from "@mondaycom/hatcha-react";
import "@mondaycom/hatcha-react/styles.css";
export default function RootLayout({ children }) {
return (
<html lang="en">
<body>
<HatchaProvider>{children}</HatchaProvider>
</body>
</html>
);
}
4. Trigger verification
"use client";
import { useHatcha } from "@mondaycom/hatcha-react";
function AgentModeButton() {
const { requestVerification } = useHatcha();
return (
<button
onClick={() =>
requestVerification((token) => {
console.log("Agent verified!", token);
})
}
>
Enter Agent Mode
</button>
);
}
5. Set your secret
# .env.local
HATCHA_SECRET=your-random-secret-here
How it works
Client Server
│ │
│ GET /api/hatcha/challenge │
│────────────────────────────────►│
│ │ Generate challenge
│ │ Hash answer
│ │ HMAC-sign { hash, expiry }
│ { challenge (no answer), token }
│◄────────────────────────────────│
│ │
│ Agent solves the challenge │
│ │
│ POST /api/hatcha/verify │
│ { answer, token } │
│────────────────────────────────►│
│ │ Verify HMAC signature
│ │ Check expiry
│ │ Compare answer hash
│ { success, verificationToken } │
│◄────────────────────────────────│
The answer never reaches the client. The signed token is opaque and contains only a hashed answer + expiry. Verification is stateless — no database needed.
Challenge types
| Type | Icon | What it does | Time limit |
|---|---|---|---|
math | × | 5-digit × 5-digit multiplication | 30 s |
string | ↔ | Reverse a 60–80 character random string | 30 s |
count | # | Count a specific character in ~250 characters | 30 s |
sort | ⇅ | Sort 15 numbers, return the k-th smallest | 30 s |
binary | 01 | Decode binary octets to ASCII | 30 s |
Custom challenges
import { registerChallenge } from "@mondaycom/hatcha-server";
registerChallenge({
type: "hex",
generate() {
const n = Math.floor(Math.random() * 0xffffff);
return {
display: {
type: "hex",
icon: "0x",
title: "Hex Decode",
description: "Convert this hex number to decimal.",
prompt: `0x${n.toString(16).toUpperCase()}`,
timeLimit: 30,
answer: String(n),
},
answer: String(n),
};
},
});
Theming
HATCHA uses CSS custom properties scoped under --hatcha-*. Override them on any parent element:
[data-hatcha-theme] {
--hatcha-accent: #3b82f6;
--hatcha-accent-light: #60a5fa;
--hatcha-bg: #060b18;
--hatcha-fg: #e4eaf6;
--hatcha-success: #22c55e;
--hatcha-danger: #ef4444;
}
Pass theme="dark", theme="light", or theme="auto" to <HatchaProvider> or <Hatcha>.
Express
import express from "express";
import { hatchaRouter } from "@mondaycom/hatcha-server/express";
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());
app.use("/api/hatcha", hatchaRouter({ secret: process.env.HATCHA_SECRET! }));
app.listen(3000);
Packages
| Package | Description |
|---|---|
@mondaycom/hatcha-core | Challenge generation and cryptographic verification |
@mondaycom/hatcha-react | React component, provider, and styles |
@mondaycom/hatcha-server | Next.js and Express server handlers |
Development
git clone https://github.com/mondaycom/HATCHA.git
cd HATCHA
pnpm install
pnpm build
cd examples/nextjs-app
pnpm dev
Contributing
Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup instructions and guidelines.