WebSocket Connection Guide

Connect directly to Unit Network's Substrate node for real-time blockchain data, event subscriptions, and RPC calls.

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Connection

wss://mainnet-unit.com:443

This is a standard Substrate JSON-RPC WebSocket endpoint compatible with all Substrate tooling.

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Quick Start

JavaScript (Browser / Node.js)

const ws = new WebSocket('wss://mainnet-unit.com:443');

ws.onopen = () => {
  console.log('Connected to Unit Network');
  
  // Subscribe to new blocks
  ws.send(JSON.stringify({
    jsonrpc: '2.0',
    id: 1,
    method: 'chain_subscribeNewHeads',
    params: []
  }));
};

ws.onmessage = (event) => {
  const data = JSON.parse(event.data);
  if (data.params?.result) {
    console.log('New block:', data.params.result.number);
  }
};

Using Polkadot.js API (Recommended)

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

const provider = new WsProvider('wss://mainnet-unit.com:443');
const api = await ApiPromise.create({ provider });

// Get chain info
const chain = await api.rpc.system.chain();
const lastHeader = await api.rpc.chain.getHeader();
console.log(`${chain}: block #${lastHeader.number}`);

// Subscribe to new blocks
const unsubscribe = await api.rpc.chain.subscribeNewHeads((header) => {
  console.log(`Block #${header.number}`);
});

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Common RPC Methods

System

Method	Description
system_chain	Chain name
system_name	Node name
system_version	Node version
system_health	Node health status
system_properties	Chain properties (decimals, token symbol)

Chain

Method	Description
chain_getHeader	Latest block header
chain_getBlock	Full block data
chain_getBlockHash	Block hash by number
chain_subscribeNewHeads	Subscribe to new blocks

State

Method	Description
state_getStorage	Read storage by key
state_queryStorageAt	Query multiple storage keys
state_getMetadata	Chain metadata (pallet info)
state_getRuntimeVersion	Runtime version

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Subscribing to Events

// Subscribe to all system events
const api = await ApiPromise.create({ provider });

api.query.system.events((events) => {
  events.forEach(({ event }) => {
    console.log(`${event.section}.${event.method}: ${event.data}`);
  });
});

Performance

WebSocket subscriptions are far more efficient than polling the REST API. Use subscriptions for any real-time data needs.

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Connection Best Practices

1. Reconnect on disconnect — WebSocket connections can drop; implement exponential backoff
2. Unsubscribe when done — Call the unsubscribe function to prevent memory leaks
3. Use Polkadot.js — It handles reconnection, type decoding, and subscription management
4. Rate limit subscriptions — Don't create hundreds of concurrent subscriptions

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Related Pages

• REST API Reference — HTTP endpoints
• SDK Integration — Full Polkadot.js setup guide
• Architecture Overview — Substrate chain details