polkadot-chain-connection

Polkadot Chain Connection

Connect to Polkadot ecosystem chains with fully typed APIs powered by polkadot-api (papi) descriptors.

WARNING: Only the "paseo" environment is currently available. Calling getChainAPI("polkadot") or getChainAPI("kusama") will throw.

WARNING: Descriptors use subpath imports only. Import @polkadot-apps/descriptors/bulletin, never @polkadot-apps/descriptors.

Two Ways to Connect

@polkadot-apps/chain-client offers two connection paths:

Path	Function	When to Use
BYOD (bring your own descriptors)	createChainClient(config)	Recommended for production. Import only the chains you need, provide your own RPCs. Space-optimized.
Preset (zero-config)	getChainAPI(env)	Convenience / prototyping. Gives you Asset Hub + Bulletin + Individuality with built-in RPCs. No descriptor imports needed.

Both return the same ChainClient<T> type.

Size note: BYOD imports only the descriptors you need. A bulletin-only app loads ~900 KB vs ~6.3 MB for the full preset.

BYOD (Bring Your Own Descriptors) -- Recommended

import { createChainClient } from "@polkadot-apps/chain-client";
import { paseo_asset_hub } from "@polkadot-apps/descriptors/paseo-asset-hub";
import { bulletin } from "@polkadot-apps/descriptors/bulletin";

const client = await createChainClient({
  chains: { assetHub: paseo_asset_hub, bulletin },
  rpcs: {
    assetHub: ["wss://sys.ibp.network/asset-hub-paseo"],
    bulletin: ["wss://paseo-bulletin-rpc.polkadot.io"],
  },
});

const account = await client.assetHub.query.System.Account.getValue("5G...");
const fee = await client.bulletin.query.TransactionStorage.ByteFee.getValue();

client.destroy();

Preset (Zero-Config) -- Convenience / Prototyping

import { getChainAPI, destroyAll } from "@polkadot-apps/chain-client";

const client = await getChainAPI("paseo");
const account = await client.assetHub.query.System.Account.getValue("5G...");
console.log("Free balance:", account.data.free);

// Raw PolkadotClient access for advanced use
const rawAssetHub = client.raw.assetHub;

client.destroy();