name: Polkadot
description: Polkadot is a multi-chain blockchain network that enables interoperability between specialized blockchains called parachains. Developer APIs are provided through Subscan (a multi-chain block explorer with a hosted HTTP API) and the Substrate API Sidecar (a REST interface for Polkadot SDK-based chains), enabling queries against extrinsics, events, accounts, blocks, staking data, and parachain state on Polkadot, Kusama, and related networks.
image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/polkadot/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2026-06-13'
modified: '2026-06-13'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
tags:
  - Blockchain
  - Polkadot
  - Parachain
  - Substrate
  - Crypto
  - Web3
apis:
  - name: Subscan API
    description: Subscan provides a hosted HTTP API for querying indexed on-chain data across more than 90 Substrate-based networks including Polkadot and Kusama. Endpoints cover blocks, extrinsics, events, accounts, staking, tokens, and parachain data. Each network has a dedicated base URL following the pattern https://{network}.api.subscan.io. All requests require an API key obtained from pro.subscan.io.
    image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
    humanURL: https://support.subscan.io/
    baseURL: https://polkadot.api.subscan.io
    tags:
      - Blockchain
      - Polkadot
      - Kusama
      - Extrinsics
      - Events
      - Accounts
      - Blocks
      - Staking
      - Parachain
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://support.subscan.io/
      - type: PostmanCollection
        url: https://documenter.getpostman.com/view/1618960/TVCe1oRU
      - type: OpenAPI
        url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/polkadot/refs/heads/main/openapi/subscan-swagger.yaml
      - type: Plans
        url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/polkadot/refs/heads/main/plans/subscan.yml
      - type: RateLimits
        url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/polkadot/refs/heads/main/rate-limits/subscan.yml
      - type: FinOps
        url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/polkadot/refs/heads/main/finops/subscan.yml
    contact:
      - FN: Subscan API Support
        email: api@subscan.io
  - name: Substrate API Sidecar
    description: The Substrate API Sidecar is an open-source REST service maintained by Parity Technologies that provides a RESTful interface for interacting with Polkadot SDK-based blockchains. It covers blocks, accounts (balances, assets, foreign assets), transactions (dry-run, parse, material), staking, and parachain/coretime data. Parity provides public hosted instances for Polkadot, Kusama, Polkadot Asset Hub, and Kusama Asset Hub. Self-hosting is recommended for production use.
    image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
    humanURL: https://paritytech.github.io/substrate-api-sidecar/docsv2/
    baseURL: https://polkadot-public-sidecar.parity-chains.parity.io
    tags:
      - Blockchain
      - Polkadot
      - Kusama
      - Accounts
      - Blocks
      - Transactions
      - Staking
      - Parachain
      - Open Source
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://docs.polkadot.com/chain-interactions/query-data/query-rest/
      - type: OpenAPI
        url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/polkadot/refs/heads/main/openapi/substrate-api-sidecar-openapi.yaml
      - type: GitHubRepository
        url: https://github.com/paritytech/substrate-api-sidecar
    contact:
      - FN: Parity Technologies
        url: https://www.parity.io/
  - name: Polkadot REST API
    description: The Polkadot REST API is a Rust rewrite of the Substrate API Sidecar, maintained by Parity Technologies, offering REST endpoints for blocks, transactions (dry-run, parse, material), accounts, staking, and parachain/coretime data. It targets production deployments requiring high throughput and provides OpenAPI specifications for all endpoints.
    image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
    humanURL: https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-rest-api
    baseURL: https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-rest-api
    tags:
      - Blockchain
      - Polkadot
      - Transactions
      - Blocks
      - Staking
      - Parachain
      - Rust
      - Open Source
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-rest-api
      - type: OpenAPI
        url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/polkadot/refs/heads/main/openapi/polkadot-rest-api-openapi.json
      - type: GitHubRepository
        url: https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-rest-api
    contact:
      - FN: Parity Technologies
        url: https://www.parity.io/
common:
  - type: Website
    url: https://polkadot.com/
  - type: Developer
    url: https://docs.polkadot.com/
  - type: Blog
    url: https://polkadot.com/blog
  - type: GitHub
    url: https://github.com/paritytech
  - type: StatusPage
    url: https://subscan.statuspage.io/
  - type: TermsOfService
    url: https://polkadot.com/terms-of-use
  - type: PrivacyPolicy
    url: https://polkadot.com/privacy-policy
maintainers:
  - FN: API Evangelist
    email: info@apievangelist.com