Networks¶

Introduction¶

Two TestNet environments are available while you build Polkadot Products, and they are separate networks, not two names for one. The Product SDK exposes both as presets:

paseo (Paseo Next v2): The environment Polkadot Desktop development builds default to. It is a preview network and the successor to Paseo Next v1.
devnet (Products Devnet): A public Paseo TestNet operated by the Polkadot Community Foundation (PCF) using open-source technology developed by Parity. Parity does not operate it.

Both expose the same core chains a Product uses — Asset Hub, the Bulletin Chain, and Individuality (the chain that carries identity, personhood, and the Statement Store, which the reference docs also call the People Chain) — so most Product code runs on either without changes. The production polkadot and kusama presets are not live yet; requesting them throws.

Who operates each environment

Polkadot Products can target environments run by two different operators. Each operator deploys, maintains, and supports its own environment, so report a problem to the operator of the environment where it occurs. See Choose the Right Channel for where to ask.

Parity: Runs Paseo Next v2 (the paseo preset, parachain 1500) and the services on it, including dotNS and the Playground directory, and maintains the playground CLI these docs use. Parity publishes development builds of Polkadot Desktop on the polkadot-desktop-community releases page and nightly Android builds of the Polkadot App on the trinity-user-agents releases page. Ask about Paseo Next v2 or Parity's tools through Polkadot Developer Support, or report bugs in the tool's own GitHub repository.
Polkadot Community Foundation (PCF): Operates Products Devnet (the devnet preset) and everything on it, including its chains, registries, and deployments, using open-source technology developed by Parity. PCF also publishes its own builds of the Polkadot App, including the Google Play app, and of Polkadot Desktop, and the pad tooling that publishes to Browse. Parity does not operate these services; report issues with them in PCF's products-devnet-issues repository or ask in #devnet-discussion on the Polkadot Discord server.

What Differs¶

The one behavioral difference documented today that can affect your app is transaction signing on Paseo Next v2:

AsPgas signed extension (Paseo Next v2): Paseo Next v2 ships an AsPgas signed extension that legacy Polkadot.js-style signing does not understand, so that path fails with an error about the unsupported signed extension. Sign through the product account instead — get a signer from getProductAccount(...).getSigner(), which routes through the Host's transaction path and preserves the extension. This is the path the SDK guides already use, so following them keeps you compatible.

Beyond signing, the two networks are separate deployments with separate operators, so do not assume they offer the same capabilities. Endpoints and preset details are re-homed as the networks evolve, so resolve them from the SDK preset rather than hardcoding.

Proof of Personhood Availability¶

Whether the Proof of Personhood Full tier is active on a given network depends on operator-side configuration, so it can differ between environments and over time. Treat a None or Lite result as the safe default in your Product, and gate features so they still work when a higher tier is unavailable.

Confirm current per-network capabilities

Which personhood tiers, discovery directories, and services are live on each network is evolving and is not fully captured in these docs. Before depending on a specific capability being present on Products Devnet or Paseo Next v2, confirm its current status with that network's operator rather than assuming the two match.

Where to Go Next¶

Learn Chain Client

How a Product connects to these networks through the Host, and how presets map to chains.

Chain Client
Guide Get TestNet Tokens

Fund your account and grant service allowances on your target network.

Get TestNet Tokens

Last update: October 7, 2026
| Created: September 2, 2026