Cloudflare lets you test its bot detection before it blocks anyone
Precursor gets a Monitor mode that logs behavioural bot signals without touching bot score or Challenge clearance, so you can check it before switching it on.
Cloudflare added a Monitor mode to Precursor on 19 October. Precursor is Cloudflare’s session-based bot detection, watching behaviour throughout a visit rather than checking once at the door, and until now turning it on meant it could immediately affect a visitor’s bot score and Challenge clearance.
The Precursor Status setting in Security > Settings now offers three options instead of two: Off, Monitor and Arm. Arm is the existing behaviour, where detections can change bot score and trigger Challenges. Monitor records what Precursor sees without touching either. Cloudflare also split the Precursor Interstitial out of the mode setting: you set a sitewide default with Show Interstitial, then add Interstitial Rules for exceptions, such as forcing a Challenge on /checkout while leaving the rest of the site unchallenged.
Why it matters: behavioural bot detection is exactly the kind of control that is nerve-wracking to switch on in production, since a bad signal can block a real customer. Monitor mode lets you watch what Precursor would have done against live traffic first, and tune it, before it has any power to challenge or block anyone.