How to Manage Priorities?

Go to Priority Protect > Priorities

A list of priorities configured in your workspace is displayed. Priorities are matched following their rank order: for a given request, the first matched priority is applied. Each priority must have a unique rank across your workspace.

Creating a Priority

To create a new priority, click the Create Priority button and follow the two-step configuration process.

Step 1: Type

1. Activation Mode

Choose how to activate your priority :

Mode	Description	Best For
Time-Based	Priority is active only during specified date and time windows	Product launches, flash sales, event ticket releases with known start times
Always On	Priority is continuously active 24/7	High-traffic pages that consistently need traffic management

2. Visitor Types

Select which types of visitors should be allowed to join your priority :

Humans: Allow human visitors to join your priority (Can't be removed)
AI Agents : Allow AI agents to access your priority

Step 2: Settings

Configure the core parameters of your priority :

Field	Description	Notes
Name	A unique label to identify your priority
Maximum concurrent visitors	Maximum number of visitors allowed on your website before new visitors are placed in the priority. Measured globally across all visitors matching this priority's matching condition.
Admission rate	Maximum number of visitors granted access to your website per minute Controls the flow rate from priority to your site.
Rank	Priority order compared to other priorities (must be unique). Lower numbers = higher priority
Enforce client-side validation	Enable additional browser-based bot challenges. Recommended for Scheduled priority

Matching Condition

Define which visitors will be directed to the waiting room using DataDome's Lucene query syntax or simple URL matching:

domain:www.example.org AND url:/product/548701156

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Matching Syntax You can use domain, URL, query parameters, or combine multiple conditions. See the traffic queries syntax user guide for detailed syntax guidelines.

Activation Period (Scheduled Priority Only)

For Time-Based priorities, configure when your priority should be active:

Priority start date : When the priority becomes active
Priority end date : When the priority deactivates

Pre-Admission Settings

Configure when visitors can begin joining the priority before the priority officially starts:

Duration (minutes) : How many minutes before the priority start time visitors can join the pre-admission (Default : 30 minutes)

This feature is useful for managing early arrivals and building an orderly priority before high-demand events.

Activating and Deactivating Priorities

You can enable or disable any priority at any time without deleting it. This is useful for:

Testing priority configurations before going live
Temporarily pausing a priority during maintenance
Quickly reactivating a priority for unexpected traffic surges
Keeping priority configurations for recurring events

To activate a deactivated priority:

Navigate to Priority Protect > Priorities
Find the priority you want to activate (shown with "Deactivated" status)
Click the Actions menu (⋮)
Select Activate

The priority status will change to `Activated`` immediately and the priority will begin processing traffic according to its configuration.

How to Deactivate a Priority

Navigate to Priority Protect > Priorities
Find the priority you want to deactivate (shown with "Activated" status)
Click the Actions menu (⋮)
Select Deactivate

The priority status will change to "Deactivated" immediately and the priority will stop processing traffic.

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Impact of Deactivation
When you deactivate a priority:

All visitors currently in the priority will be immediately admitted to your site.

The priority configuration is preserved and can be reactivated at any time.

Use caution when deactivating priorities during high-traffic events, as this will cause a sudden traffic surge.

Deleting a Priority

Navigate to Priority Protect > Priorities
Find the priority you want to remove
Click ...> Delete
Confirm the deletion. All visitors in priority will be redirected instantly to your site.

FAQ

Can I have multiple priorities active at the same time?

Yes! You can have multiple priorities active simultaneously. The rank determines which priority is applied when a visitor matches multiple conditions.

What happens if I change capacity settings during an active event?

Changes take effect immediately. If you increase capacity, more visitors will be admitted from the priority. If you decrease capacity, admission rate will slow but visitors already on your site will not be removed.

What's the difference between admission rate and maximum concurrent visitors?

Maximum concurrent visitors is the total capacity on your site at any moment. Admission rate controls how fast new visitors are let in from the priority (per minute). Think of capacity as "room size" and admission rate as "door size."