Cloudflare cf_clearance: why it expires and how to stop the re-challenge loop
You solve the Cloudflare challenge, get a cf_clearance cookie, make your next request — and Cloudflare throws you straight back to the challenge. You solve it again, same thing. The scraper is technically "working," it's just stuck in a loop, burning a solve on every request and never getting to the actual page.
This is one of the most common Cloudflare problems, and it's almost never the challenge itself. It's how cf_clearance is issued and what it's tied to. Once you understand that, the loop has a clean fix.
What cf_clearance actually is
When you pass a Cloudflare challenge (managed challenge, JS challenge, or interactive Turnstile), Cloudflare issues a cf_clearance cookie. That cookie is your proof of passage — present it on subsequent requests and Cloudflare lets you through without re-challenging.
