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Building on Polygon

Ethereum developers are by default Polygon developers. Welcome. Simply switch to the Polygon RPC and get started. All familiar tools used on Ethereum are supported on Polygon. Whether it is Truffle, Remix or Web3js, Polygon offers the same UX as Ethereum.

Connect your wallet and deploy any decentralized application to either Polygon Mainnet or Polygon Mumbai Testnet.

Polygon Mumbai Testnet connects to Ethereum Goërli Testnet, which acts as its ParentChain, a testnet layer 1 (L1).

Find all the network-related details in the network documentation.

Overview

Polygon is a layer 2 (L2) network to Ethereum, employing a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, and thus composed of the following two layers:

  • Heimdall layer, a consensus layer consisting of a set of proof-of-stake Heimdall nodes for monitoring staking contracts deployed on the Ethereum mainnet, and committing the Polygon Network checkpoints to the Ethereum mainnet. Heimdall is based on Tendermint.
  • Bor layer, an execution layer which is made up of a set of block-producing Bor nodes shuffled by Heimdall nodes. Bor is based on Go Ethereum (Geth).

In order to be a validator on the Polygon Network, you need to:

  • Run a sentry node, which is a separate machine running a Heimdall node and a Bor node. A sentry node is open to all nodes on the Polygon Network.
  • Run a validator node, which is a separate machine running a Heimdall node and a Bor node. A validator node is only open to its sentry node and closed to the rest of the network.
  • Stake the MATIC tokens in the staking contracts deployed on the Ethereum mainnet.

Wallets

To interact with the Polygon Network, you need to have an Ethereum-based wallet because Polygon runs on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). You can choose to set up a Metamask or Arkane Wallet.

Smart contracts

Polygon supports many services you can use to test, compile, debug, and deploy decentralized applications onto the Polygon Network. These include deployment using thirdweb, Alchemy, Chainstack, QuickNode, Remix, Truffle, Hardhat, and Replit.

Connecting to Polygon

You can add Polygon to MetaMask or directly use Arkane, which allows you to connect to Polygon using RPC.

In order to connect with the Polygon network to read blockchain information, we recommend using the Alchemy SDK.

// Javascript
// Setup: npm install alchemy-sdk
const { Alchemy, Network } = require("alchemy-sdk");

const settings = {
  apiKey: "demo", // Can replace with your API Key from https://www.alchemy.com
  network: Network.MATIC_MAINNET, // Can replace with MATIC_MUMBAI
};

const alchemy = new Alchemy(settings);

async function main() {
  const latestBlock = await alchemy.core.getBlockNumber();
  console.log("The latest block number is", latestBlock);
}

main();

Take it easy!

If this is overwhelming, that’s alright! You can jump right into the action and start hacking. Here are some notes before you start diving into resources, repositories, and docs:

  1. Beware the cost of being on the bleeding edge: Like typical niche programming, dApps and blockchain development moves very quickly. While researching, you may find complex code repositories, 404s on a documentation site, or even no documentation. Use that opportunity to open an issue on the Polygon Knowledge Layer’s GitHub repository.
  2. The learning curve may be daunting, but the barrier to entry is low: The community is very open and welcoming! Projects welcome pull requests from outsiders and resolve any blockers actively. We’re working on creating a better world and contribution in any form is appreciated. We’ll be grateful to onboard you into this amazing Web3 ecosystem.

Building a new dApp on Polygon?

Decentralized applications (dApps) act as the bridge between users and their data privacy on the blockchain. The increasing number of dApps validates their usefulness within the blockchain ecosystem, solving challenges like executing transactions between two participants without the need for central authority via smart contracts.

Suppose you have no prior experience building decentralized applications (dApps). In that case, the below-mentioned resources will give you a head start on the tools required to build, debug, and deploy dApps on the Polygon Network.

Already have a dApp?

If you already have a decentralized application (dApp) and are looking for a platform to help you scale efficiently, then you are at the right place because Polygon allows you to:

  1. Easily migrate from Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) based chain: Polygon prides itself in being the ultimate Layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum. You don’t have to worry about the underlying architecture while moving or deploying your dApps to the Polygon Network as long as it is EVM-compatible.
  2. Use Polygon as a faster transaction layer: Deploying your dApp to the Polygon Mainnet allows you to leverage Polygon as a faster transaction layer for your dApp. Additionally, you can get your tokens mapped by us. You can join our technical discussions group on Telegram to learn more.
Last update: January 17, 2024
Authors: avenbreaks