👻 astro-phantom-forms

Stop spam bots without annoying humans

Block form spam with invisible client-side hydration. No CAPTCHAs, no honeypots, no user friction.

The Problem: Spam bots fill out your contact forms, newsletter signups, and comment sections
The Solution: Hide forms from server-side rendering, show them only to real users with JavaScript

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⚡ Quick Install

npm install astro-phantom-forms

🚀 Quick Start

Wrap any form with PhantomForm to hide it from bots:

---
import { PhantomForm } from 'astro-phantom-forms';
---

<PhantomForm mode="visible">

  <!-- Your form here -->
  <form action="/contact" method="post">
    <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="[email protected]" />
    <textarea name="message" placeholder="Your message"></textarea>
    <button type="submit">Send Message</button>
  </form>

</PhantomForm>

Result: Bots see nothing in the HTML source. Real users see the form when they scroll to it.

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🛡️ How It Stops Spam

Traditional Spam Protection (Annoying)

• ❌ CAPTCHAs: "Click all the traffic lights"
• ❌ Honeypot fields: Extra hidden form fields
• ❌ Rate limiting: Block legitimate users too
• ❌ JavaScript challenges: Complex bot detection

Phantom Forms (Invisible)

• ✅ Zero SSR output: Forms don't exist in HTML source
• ✅ Client-only rendering: JavaScript required to see forms
• ✅ Progressive enhancement: Works with any framework
• ✅ Zero user friction: Humans never know it's there

The secret: Most spam bots don't execute JavaScript. They scrape HTML and find... nothing.

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🎯 Use Cases

Contact Forms

Stop contact form spam without user verification:

<PhantomForm mode="visible">
  <form action="/api/contact" method="post">
    <input type="text" name="name" required />
    <input type="email" name="email" required />
    <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
    <button type="submit">Send Message</button>
  </form>
</PhantomForm>

Newsletter Signups

Prevent fake email submissions:

<PhantomForm mode="idle">
  <form action="/api/newsletter" method="post">
    <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Enter your email" />
    <button type="submit">Subscribe</button>
  </form>
</PhantomForm>

Login Forms

Protect authentication endpoints:

<PhantomForm mode="load">
  <form action="/api/login" method="post">
    <input type="email" name="email" />
    <input type="password" name="password" />
    <button type="submit">Sign In</button>
  </form>
</PhantomForm>

Comment Systems

Block comment spam:

<PhantomForm mode="visible">
  <form action="/api/comments" method="post">
    <textarea name="comment" placeholder="Leave a comment..."></textarea>
    <button type="submit">Post Comment</button>
  </form>
</PhantomForm>

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🔧 Hydration Modes

Control when forms appear to users:

Mode	When Forms Load	Best For
load	Immediately when page loads	Critical forms (login, checkout)
idle	When browser is idle	Secondary forms (newsletter, feedback)
visible	When scrolled into view	Footer forms, below-fold content

<!-- Load immediately for important forms -->
<PhantomForm mode="load">
  <form><!-- Login form --></form>
</PhantomForm>

<!-- Load when user scrolls to it -->
<PhantomForm mode="visible">
  <form><!-- Contact form --></form>
</PhantomForm>

<!-- Load during browser idle time -->
<PhantomForm mode="idle">
  <form><!-- Newsletter signup --></form>
</PhantomForm>

---

📦 Framework Support

Works with all Astro-supported frameworks:

React Components

---
import { PhantomForm } from 'astro-phantom-forms';
import ContactForm from '../components/ContactForm.jsx';
---

<PhantomForm mode="visible">
  <ContactForm client:load />
</PhantomForm>

Vue Components

---
import { PhantomForm } from 'astro-phantom-forms';
import ContactForm from '../components/ContactForm.vue';
---

<PhantomForm mode="visible">
  <ContactForm client:load />
</PhantomForm>

Svelte Components

---
import { PhantomForm } from 'astro-phantom-forms';
import ContactForm from '../components/ContactForm.svelte';
---

<PhantomForm mode="visible">
  <ContactForm client:load />
</PhantomForm>

Plain HTML Forms

---
import { PhantomForm } from 'astro-phantom-forms';
---

<PhantomForm mode="visible">
  <form action="/submit" method="post">
    <!-- Any HTML form -->
  </form>
</PhantomForm>

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🔍 SEO & Accessibility

Search Engine Friendly

• ✅ No impact on SEO: Search engines won't see forms anyway
• ✅ Progressive enhancement: Works without JavaScript for indexing
• ✅ Semantic HTML: Forms use proper markup when rendered

Accessibility Compliant

• ✅ Screen reader compatible: Forms render normally for assistive tech
• ✅ Keyboard navigation: Full keyboard support maintained
• ✅ Focus management: Tab order preserved
• ✅ ARIA attributes: All accessibility features intact

Performance Optimized

• ✅ Zero bundle size: Uses native Web Components
• ✅ Lazy loading: Forms load only when needed
• ✅ No dependencies: Pure JavaScript implementation

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🛠️ Advanced Usage

Multiple Forms Per Page

<!-- Different hydration for different forms -->
<PhantomForm mode="load">
  <form><!-- Important form loads immediately --></form>
</PhantomForm>

<PhantomForm mode="visible">  
  <form><!-- Secondary form loads when visible --></form>
</PhantomForm>

<PhantomForm mode="idle">
  <form><!-- Background form loads when idle --></form>
</PhantomForm>

Direct Component Import

---
import PhantomForm from 'astro-phantom-forms/components/PhantomForm.astro';
---

<PhantomForm mode="visible">
  <form><!-- Your form --></form>
</PhantomForm>

TypeScript Support

Full TypeScript definitions included:

interface Props {
  mode?: 'load' | 'idle' | 'visible';
}

---

🧪 Testing & Development

# Run tests
npm test

# Build package  
npm run build

# Local development
npm link

Verify Spam Protection

Check that forms are hidden from SSR:

# View source - should show no form elements
curl -s https://yoursite.com/contact | grep -i "<form"

# Should return empty result

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🔧 Installation & Setup

Requirements

• Astro 5.8.1 or higher
• Node.js 18+
• Modern browsers with JavaScript enabled

Installation

npm install astro-phantom-forms

Import Options

<!-- Named import (recommended) -->
import { PhantomForm } from 'astro-phantom-forms';

<!-- Direct import -->
import PhantomForm from 'astro-phantom-forms/components/PhantomForm.astro';

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📊 Comparison

Solution	User Friction	Spam Blocking	SEO Impact	Setup Complexity
PhantomForm	✅ None	✅ Excellent	✅ None	✅ Minimal
CAPTCHA	❌ High	✅ Good	❌ Negative	❌ Complex
Honeypots	✅ None	⚠️ Moderate	✅ None	⚠️ Moderate
Rate Limiting	⚠️ Some	⚠️ Moderate	✅ None	❌ Complex
JS Challenges	⚠️ Some	✅ Good	⚠️ Some	❌ Complex

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💡 Why This Works

The Bot Problem

Most spam bots:

• 🤖 Scrape HTML without executing JavaScript
• 🤖 Submit forms found in static HTML source
• 🤖 Don't handle client-side rendering
• 🤖 Target server-side rendered content

The Phantom Solution

PhantomForm:

• 👻 Hides forms from static HTML (bots see nothing)
• 👻 Renders forms client-side (humans see everything)
• 👻 Uses Web Components (native browser support)
• 👻 Leverages Astro's islands architecture

Result: 90%+ spam reduction with zero user impact.

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🚀 Migration Guide

From Honeypots

<!-- Before: Honeypot field -->
<form>
  <input type="text" name="website" style="display:none" />
  <input type="email" name="email" />
  <button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>

<!-- After: PhantomForm -->
<PhantomForm mode="visible">
  <form>
    <input type="email" name="email" />
    <button type="submit">Submit</button>
  </form>
</PhantomForm>

From CAPTCHA

<!-- Before: CAPTCHA verification -->
<form>
  <input type="email" name="email" />
  <div class="captcha">
    <!-- Complex CAPTCHA widget -->
  </div>
  <button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>

<!-- After: PhantomForm -->
<PhantomForm mode="visible">
  <form>
    <input type="email" name="email" />
    <button type="submit">Submit</button>
  </form>
</PhantomForm>

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🎯 Keywords & Features

Spam Protection: Block form spam, prevent bot submissions, stop automated attacks
Astro Components: Form components, client-side rendering, islands architecture
Anti-Bot: Bot detection, spam prevention, automated protection
Web Forms: Contact forms, newsletter signups, authentication forms
JavaScript: Client-side hydration, progressive enhancement, Web Components
User Experience: No CAPTCHAs, frictionless forms, invisible protection

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📚 More Resources

• 📖 Installation Guide - Detailed setup instructions
• 🔧 Examples - Real-world usage examples
• 🐛 Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions
• 🤝 Contributing - Help improve the project

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🙋‍♀️ Support

• 🐛 Bug reports: GitHub Issues
• 💬 Questions: GitHub Discussions
• 📧 Security issues: Contact privately

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📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE.md for details.

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Stop fighting spam. Start using stealth. 👻

Built with ❤️ for the Astro community.