system_chain

Description

Returns the human-readable name of the chain the node is connected to. Use this method during bootstrap to verify whether your endpoint targets Bifrost on Polkadot (Bifrost) or the Kusama canary deployment (Bifrost Canary).

Parameters

This method does not require parameters.

Returns

Field	Type	Description
result	string	Chain name string (e.g., Bifrost)

Request Example

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "system_chain",
  "params": [],
  "id": 1
}

Response Example

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": "Bifrost",
  "id": 1
}

Code Examples

JavaScript (polkadot.js)

import { ApiPromise, WsProvider } from '@polkadot/api';

const provider = new WsProvider('wss://api-bifrost-polkadot.n.dwellir.com/YOUR_API_KEY');
const api = await ApiPromise.create({ provider });

const chainName = await api.rpc.system.chain();
console.log('Connected chain:', chainName.toString());

Python (py-substrate-interface)

from substrateinterface import SubstrateInterface

substrate = SubstrateInterface(
    url="wss://api-bifrost-polkadot.n.dwellir.com/YOUR_API_KEY"
)

print("Connected chain:", substrate.chain)

Rust (subxt)

use subxt::{config::substrate::SubstrateConfig, OnlineClient};

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let api = OnlineClient::<SubstrateConfig>::from_url(
        "wss://api-bifrost-polkadot.n.dwellir.com/YOUR_API_KEY"
    ).await?;

    let chain = api.rpc().system_chain().await?;
    println!("Connected chain: {}", chain);
    Ok(())
}

Tips

• Kusama canary nodes return Bifrost Canary. Swap to the canary endpoint when staging runtime upgrades or Hyperbridge changes.
• Pair system_chain with system_properties (token decimals, SS58 prefix) for comprehensive environment detection.