system_health

Description

Returns the node health status, including peer count, synchronization state, and whether the node expects peers. Use this endpoint for readiness probes and observability dashboards.

Parameters

This method does not take any parameters.

Returns

Field	Type	Description
peers	number	Number of connected peers
isSyncing	boolean	Whether the node is currently syncing
shouldHavePeers	boolean	Whether the node is expected to maintain peer connections

Request Example

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

Response Example

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": {
    "peers": 23,
    "isSyncing": false,
    "shouldHavePeers": true
  },
  "id": 1
}

The exact numbers vary with network conditions; a healthy collator typically reports >8 peers and isSyncing: false.

Code Examples

cURL

curl https://api-bifrost-polkadot.n.dwellir.com/YOUR_API_KEY \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "system_health",
    "params": [],
    "id": 1
  }'

JavaScript (fetch)

const checkHealth = async () => {
  const response = await fetch('https://api-bifrost-polkadot.n.dwellir.com/YOUR_API_KEY', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      jsonrpc: '2.0',
      method: 'system_health',
      params: [],
      id: 1
    })
  });

  const { result } = await response.json();
  if (result.isSyncing) {
    console.warn('Node is still syncing, retry later.');
  }
  if (result.shouldHavePeers && result.peers < 4) {
    console.warn('Peer count is low, investigate network connectivity.');
  }

  return result;
};

Python (requests)

import requests
import json

def get_health():
    url = "https://api-bifrost-polkadot.n.dwellir.com/YOUR_API_KEY"
    payload = {
        "jsonrpc": "2.0",
        "method": "system_health",
        "params": [],
        "id": 1
    }

    response = requests.post(url, headers={"Content-Type": "application/json"}, data=json.dumps(payload))
    response.raise_for_status()
    return response.json()["result"]

health = get_health()
print("Peers:", health["peers"])
print("Syncing:", health["isSyncing"])

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 health = api.rpc().system_health().await?;
    println!("Peers: {}", health.peers);
    println!("isSyncing: {}", health.is_syncing);
    println!("shouldHavePeers: {}", health.should_have_peers);
    Ok(())
}

Operational Notes

• Collators should alert when peers drops to zero or isSyncing toggles to true; both indicate consensus issues.
• Combine with system_version and state_getRuntimeVersion during upgrades to confirm the node is running the expected runtime.