Node endpoints

You can run your own node for interacting with the Midnight Network or connect to public endpoints provided by infrastructure service providers.

This guide provides instructions on how to use the public network endpoints for the Midnight blockchain.

Quickstart

Run your first request against the Preview network:

cURL

curl -X POST https://rpc.preview.midnight.network/ \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"system_chain","params":[],"id":1}'

TypeScript

const res = await fetch("https://rpc.preview.midnight.network/", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    jsonrpc: "2.0",
    method: "system_chain",
    params: [],
    id: 1
  })
});

console.log(await res.json());

Python

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://rpc.preview.midnight.network/",
    json={
        "jsonrpc": "2.0",
        "method": "system_chain",
        "params": [],
        "id": 1
    }
)

print(response.json())

Rust

use reqwest::Client;
use serde_json::json;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() {
    let client = Client::new();

    let res = client.post("https://rpc.preview.midnight.network/")
        .json(&json!({
            "jsonrpc": "2.0",
            "method": "system_chain",
            "params": [],
            "id": 1
        }))
        .send()
        .await
        .unwrap();

    let body = res.text().await.unwrap();
    println!("{}", body);
}

Public network endpoints

Midnight currently maintains two active test networks for development and testing.

Preview

The primary development environment maintained by core engineering.

Service	URL
RPC (WebSocket/HTTP)	https://rpc.preview.midnight.network/
Explorer	https://polkadot.js.org/apps/?rpc=wss%3A%2F%2Frpc.preview.midnight.network#/explorer

Preprod

Pre-production environment for final testing before Mainnet deployment.

Service	URL
RPC (WebSocket/HTTP)	https://rpc.preprod.midnight.network/
Explorer	https://polkadot.js.org/apps/?rpc=wss%3A%2F%2Frpc.preprod.midnight.network#/explorer

Network support

Midnight provides public endpoints for development and testing purposes. For production DApps, consider running your own RPC node or using a dedicated infrastructure provider for better reliability and performance.

Common RPC queries

The following examples show how to query the chain information, list available RPC methods, and get the latest block for the Preview network.

Query chain information

Example query to get the chain name for the Preview network:

curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "jsonrpc": "2.0",
        "method": "system_chain",
        "params": [],
        "id": 1
      }' \
  https://rpc.preview.midnight.network/

List available RPC methods

Query all available RPC methods and save to a file for the Preview network:

curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "jsonrpc": "2.0",
        "method": "rpc_methods",
        "params": [],
        "id": 1
      }' \
  https://rpc.preview.midnight.network/ \
  | jq '.' > rpc_methods.json

Get latest block

Example query to get the latest block for the Preview network:

curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "jsonrpc": "2.0",
        "method": "chain_getBlock",
        "params": [],
        "id": 1
      }' \
  https://rpc.preview.midnight.network/

Insomnia API collection

The Insomnia collection provides pre-configured requests for interacting with Midnight RPC endpoints.

1

Download

Download the collection file: Midnight Node Insomnia collection

2

Import the collection

Open Insomnia and select Import.

Choose the File tab and select the downloaded file.

Click Scan to import the collection.

info

Download Insomnia from the official website if you haven't already.

3

Use the collection

Locate the Midnight Node collection in your workspace.

Update the RPC endpoint if needed. For example, if you are using the Preprod network, update the endpoint to https://rpc.preprod.midnight.network/.

Run requests to explore available methods.

Troubleshoot

These are some of the common issues that you might encounter and how to fix them.

Request fails with 405

Ensure you are using POST, not GET.

Invalid JSON response

Check JSON formatting and the Content-Type header. The request body should be a valid JSON object.

Empty result

Some RPC methods require parameters. To see the full list of available methods and required parameters, see the Node OpenRPC specification.

Next steps

• Run a Midnight Node in validator mode to validate transactions and blocks
• Explore the Node OpenRPC specification for full method documentation