Westend RPC Endpoints & Dedicated Nodes

Westend RPC Endpoints & Dedicated Nodes

Westend is Polkadot's official testnet, providing a sandbox environment for developers to test parachains, validators, and dApps before deploying on Polkadot or Kusama. Unlike mainnets, Westend uses free test tokens (WND), eliminating financial risk during development.

Why Use Westend RPC?

Developers rely on Westend RPC endpoints to:

• Test smart contracts and runtime upgrades
• Validate parachain onboarding flows
• Simulate staking and governance scenarios
• Integrate wallets and backend services
• Perform QA and staging releases

Westend RPC on OnFinality

OnFinality provides managed Westend RPC endpoints with HTTP and WebSocket transport. Our infrastructure supports:

• Archive nodes for full historical data access
• Trace APIs for debugging and analysis
• Dedicated nodes for isolated, high-throughput workloads

Endpoints are available in Hong Kong region. Create an API key in your OnFinality dashboard to get started.

Public vs. Private Westend RPC

Public endpoints are suitable for lightweight testing. For team projects and production staging, authenticated OnFinality endpoints offer clearer rate limits, request analytics, and a scaling path to dedicated infrastructure.

How to Connect

1. Sign in to OnFinality and select Westend from the network list.
2. Create an API endpoint or deploy a dedicated node.
3. Test with chain_getBlock via your preferred client.
4. Monitor usage and errors before moving critical traffic.

Westend is not intended for production use. When ready, migrate to Polkadot or Kusama mainnet RPC endpoints.

Westend RPC resources

Teams usually use Westend to test app behaviour, wallet flows, and backend requests before a production release, not to make a long-term infrastructure decision on day one.

Best fit: non-mainnet testing workflows for developer testing, integrations, and rollout prep.

What builders usually check first:

• Run contract, wallet, and backend checks before sending users to mainnet.
• Keep QA and staging environments close to the production chain model.
• Validate reads, writes, and event handling with low-risk test traffic.
• Move from shared testnet access to mainnet or dedicated infrastructure when release traffic becomes predictable.

Supported capability notes:

• Authenticated Westend RPC/API access for developer testing, integrations, and rollout prep.
• Flexible HTTP and WebSocket access for app, backend, and integration workflows.
• Archive-capable workflows when the product needs older chain state.
• Trace-ready workflows for teams that need to inspect execution paths.
• Managed node options for workloads that outgrow shared endpoint access.

Decision notes:

• Environment: non-mainnet. Protocol family: Substrate JSON-RPC.
• Flexible HTTP and WebSocket access is listed for supported app and backend workflows.
• Archive support is available for historical state or older chain-data queries.
• Trace support is available for transaction debugging and execution analysis.
• Dedicated node options are available when the workload needs isolated resources or more operational control.

A quick connection check usually starts with chain_getBlock, then moves into the exact methods your wallet, dashboard, bot, indexer, or backend service needs.

Planning the next step:

• Use this network for integration confidence first: contract calls, wallet flows, event handling, and backend jobs.
• Before launch, repeat the same checks against the target mainnet and review pricing or dedicated-node needs.

Next steps:

• Create or manage RPC endpoints
• Review RPC pricing
• Explore dedicated nodes
• Read the RPC provider selection guide