system_chainType - Polkadot

Example code for the system_chainType JSON RPC method. Complete guide on how to use system_chainType JSON RPC in GetBlock Web3 documentation.

This method returns the type of the chain the node is connected to, such as Live, Local, or Development.

Parameters

This method does not accept any parameters.

Request

cURL

curl --location --request POST 'https://shared.eu-central-1.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "system_chainType", "params": [], "id": "getblock.io"}'

JavaScript

example.js

const response = await fetch('https://shared.eu-central-1.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({
        jsonrpc: '2.0',
        method: 'system_chainType',
        params: [],
        id: 'getblock.io'
    })
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data.result);

Python

example.py

import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://shared.eu-central-1.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/',
    headers={'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
    json={
        'jsonrpc': '2.0',
        'method': 'system_chainType',
        'params': [],
        'id': 'getblock.io'
    }
)

print(response.json()['result'])

Response

{
    "id": "getblock.io",
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "result": "Live"
}

Response Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	Request identifier matching the request
jsonrpc	string	JSON-RPC protocol version ("2.0")
result	string	The chain type (Live, Local, Development, or Custom)

Use Cases

• Environment Detection: Distinguish a live chain from a dev chain

• Safety Gates: Block mainnet-only actions on non-live chains

• Tooling Configuration: Adapt behavior to the chain type

• Diagnostics: Log the chain type for support

Error Handling

Error Code	Message	Description
-32602	Invalid params	A parameter is missing or has the wrong type or format
-32601	Method not found	The method is not available on this endpoint
-32603	Internal error	The node failed to process the request

Library Integration

The idiomatic way to call Polkadot RPC is the Polkadot.js API (@polkadot/api), which connects over WebSocket and exposes the method as api.rpc.system.chainType.

polkadot-js.js

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

const provider = new WsProvider('wss://shared.eu-central-1.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/');
const api = await ApiPromise.create({ provider });

const result = await api.rpc.system.chainType();
console.log(result.toHuman());