testersunshine/12306

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

★ 34,184PythonAudience · vibe coderComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · hard

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Auto-login to 12306
      Monitor ticket availability
      Solve image CAPTCHAs
      Submit orders instantly
    How to use
      Configure travel details
      Set seat preferences
      Run Python script
      Get notifications
    Features
      Pre-sale queue mode
      Waitlist support
      Email alerts
      WeChat push notifications
    Tech stack
      Python 3.6-3.7
      TensorFlow
      Docker optional
    Use cases
      Book peak-season trains
      Chinese New Year tickets
      High-demand routes
      Hands-free booking

mindmap root((repo)) What it does Auto-login to 12306 Monitor ticket availability Solve image CAPTCHAs Submit orders instantly How to use Configure travel details Set seat preferences Run Python script Get notifications Features Pre-sale queue mode Waitlist support Email alerts WeChat push notifications Tech stack Python 3.6-3.7 TensorFlow Docker optional Use cases Book peak-season trains Chinese New Year tickets High-demand routes Hands-free booking

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Automatically book sold-out train tickets during Chinese New Year and other peak travel periods without manual refreshing.

USE CASE 2

Monitor 12306 ticket availability 24/7 and purchase the moment seats open up, beating other buyers.

USE CASE 3

Queue for pre-sale tickets before official release and receive instant notifications when booking succeeds.

What is it built with?

PythonTensorFlowDocker

How does it compare?

	testersunshine/12306	chenfei-wu/taskmatrix	stanfordnlp/dspy
Stars	34,184	34,132	34,238
Language	Python	Python	Python
Setup difficulty	hard	hard	moderate
Complexity	3/5	4/5	3/5
Audience	vibe coder	researcher	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1day+

Requires 12306 account credentials, CAPTCHA model training/weights, Docker setup, and handling China-specific network/auth constraints.

Use freely for any purpose including commercial, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

This repository is a Python-based automated ticket-buying assistant for China's national railway booking system, 12306.cn. It is designed to help users snag high-demand train tickets, particularly during peak travel periods like Chinese New Year, when tickets sell out in seconds, by automating the entire process of logging in, monitoring ticket availability, solving CAPTCHA challenges, and submitting an order the moment a seat becomes available. The problem it addresses is practical and widely felt in China: buying popular train tickets on 12306 often requires sitting in front of a browser for hours, refreshing repeatedly, and reacting faster than other users. This tool does that work automatically, running continuously in the background and acting the instant tickets appear. The way it works: you configure your travel details (dates, train numbers, passenger info, seat preferences) in a config file. The program then logs into your 12306 account automatically, polls for ticket availability on a schedule, uses a machine learning model (based on TensorFlow) to solve the image-based CAPTCHA that 12306 uses, and submits the order when a matching ticket is found. It supports pre-sale monitoring (queuing before tickets are officially released), waitlist queue mode, and sends notifications via email or the Server Chan (a push notification service for WeChat) when a ticket is successfully booked or when it needs your attention. You would use this if you are in China and need to book train tickets for a route that sells out extremely fast, and you are comfortable running a Python script on your own computer or a server. The tech stack is Python 3.6, 3.7, TensorFlow for local CAPTCHA recognition, and optionally Docker for simplified deployment. It works best on a personal home network rather than a cloud server, as 12306 actively blocks cloud IP addresses.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

How do I set up this 12306 ticket bot to book a train for Chinese New Year? Walk me through the config file setup.

Prompt 2

Show me how to integrate Server Chan notifications so I get WeChat alerts when a ticket is booked.

Prompt 3

How does the TensorFlow CAPTCHA solver work in this bot, and can I retrain it for better accuracy?

Prompt 4

I want to run this bot on a home server instead of my laptop, what changes do I need to make to avoid IP blocking?

Frequently asked questions

What is 12306?

Automated ticket-buying bot for China's 12306 railway system that logs in, monitors availability, solves CAPTCHAs, and books trains instantly during peak demand.

What language is 12306 written in?

Mainly Python. The stack also includes Python, TensorFlow, Docker.

What license does 12306 use?

Use freely for any purpose including commercial, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is 12306 to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1day+ to a first successful run.

Who is 12306 for?

Mainly vibe coder.

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