DHL Tracking

Track DHL parcels via the dhl.de internal API endpoint using simple HTTP requests.

Important: Why this skill exists

DHL's tracking website (dhl.de/sendungsverfolgung) is a JavaScript SPA protected by Akamai Bot Manager. The SPA renders tracking data client-side after passing bot checks — headless browsers (even with stealth patches) fail due to TLS fingerprinting.

The solution: A simple curl to www.dhl.de/int-verfolgen/data/search with minimal headers returns full tracking JSON. No auth, no cookies, no JS needed.

Quick Usage

Bash (one-liner)

bash scripts/dhl_track.sh TRACKING_NUMBER

Python (formatted output)

python3 scripts/dhl_track.py TRACKING_NUMBER

Direct curl

curl -s 'https://www.dhl.de/int-verfolgen/data/search?piececode=TRACKING_NUMBER&language=de' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' -H 'User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0'

Response Structure

sendungen[0].sendungsdetails.sendungsverlauf:
  .status              → Current status text (German)
  .fortschritt         → Progress (0-5)
  .maximalFortschritt  → Always 5
  .events[]            → Array of {datum, status, ruecksendung}

sendungen[0].sendungsdetails.zustellung:
  .zustellzeitfensterVon/Bis → Delivery window

sendungen[0].sendungsdetails.istZugestellt → boolean

Progress values

• 0-1: Label created / picked up
• 2: In transit
• 3: In recipient's region
• 4: Out for delivery (loaded onto delivery vehicle)
• 5: Delivered

Monitoring Pattern

To monitor a package and notify when close to delivery:

1. Run python3 scripts/dhl_track.py TRACKING_NUMBER periodically (cron, every 30 min)
2. Parse fortschritt from stderr JSON output
3. Notify user when fortschritt >= 4 (out for delivery)

What does NOT work (and why this skill exists)

• web_fetch on dhl.de → only gets static HTML shell, no tracking data (JS SPA)
• Headless Chrome on dhl.de → Akamai blocks internal API via TLS fingerprinting (returns 404)
• Stealth patches (fake UA, hide webdriver, fake plugins) → still detected by TLS/JA3 fingerprint
• nolp.dhl.de legacy endpoint → now also protected by Akamai (returns 500)
• DHL public API (api-eu.dhl.com) → requires API key registration
• Third-party trackers (17track, parcelsapp) → often delayed or incomplete for DE parcels

Notes

• Works for German DHL Paket numbers (typically 0034...)
• Language: language=de (German) or language=en (English)
• Be reasonable with polling (max once per minute)
• If the API starts returning 404/HTML, the Akamai protection may have expanded — try varying the User-Agent or adding a Referer: https://www.dhl.de/ header