Node Endpoints
Ideally, one may run their own node when interacting with the Polkadot network via Polkadot-JS Apps or other UIs and programmatic methods. Another option would be to connect to one of the several public endpoints provided by infrastructure and API service providers. For development convenience, Parity Tech maintains archive nodes for Polkadot, Kusama, and their test networks with public endpoints. These endpoints can be used with Polkadot-JS API to interact with their respective chains. The tables below list these endpoints.
Network Endpoints
Main Networks
| Network | URL |
|---|---|
| Polkadot | wss://rpc.polkadot.io |
| Kusama | wss://kusama-rpc.polkadot.io |
Test Networks
| Network | URL |
|---|---|
| Westend | wss://westend-rpc.polkadot.io |
| Rococo | wss://rococo-rpc.polkadot.io |
Example usage with Polkadot-JS API
To connect to the Parity node, use the endpoint in your JavaScript apps like so:
// Using the Polkadot Mainnet Endpoint
const { ApiPromise, WsProvider } = require('@polkadot/api');
async () => {
// Construct a provider with the endpoint URL
const provider = new WsProvider('wss://rpc.polkadot.io/');
// Create an API instance for Polkadot
const api = await ApiPromise.create({ provider });
// ...
Substrate Connect
Substrate connect builds on Polkadot JS so building an app is the same experience as with using a traditional RPC server node. It is a fast, secure, and decentralized way to interact with Polkadot, Kusama, and their parachains right in the browser.
Substrate Connect is still under active development.
Third Party Providers
There are a number of third-party providers of RPC infrastructure to the Polkadot and Kusama communities, commonly providing access to multiple networks and parachains in a single service. They provide additional services such as higher rate limits, potentially more reliable and scalable service, and additional metrics.
The list of third party RPC endpoints above for Polkadot and Kusama is directly fetched from Polkdot-JS UI