Grant Application: Polkadot Interop Devnet (PIDN)

[shivaniD96]

Project Abstract

"Empowering developers to revolutionize cross-chain innovation—Polkadot-first, one-command multi-ecosystem devnets for seamless testing and prototyping."

The Polkadot Interop Devnet (PIDN) will make Polkadot the natural hub for multi-chain development. With a single command, developers will be able to spin up a local or CI-ready relay chain + parachains alongside optional Cosmos zones, Ethereum clients, Solana validators, and Bitcoin nodes, plus preconfigured bridges (e.g., Snowbridge, Axelar, Wormhole).

PIDN will provide a unified CLI and API to orchestrate networks, automate XCM/relayer flows, enable AI-assisted troubleshooting, and deliver benchmarking for finality, latency, and throughput. By collapsing setup time from weeks to minutes, it will allow developers to focus on application logic rather than infrastructure, accelerating the creation of interoperability-native applications.

PIDN is designed to make Polkadot the default starting point for cross-chain development:

• Every devnet will begin with a Polkadot relay chain and parachains at the core, with other ecosystems optionally layered on.
• XCM testing and benchmarking will be first-class features, positioning Polkadot as the control plane for interoperability.
• By providing a production-like environment where both human and AI developers can build, test, and rerun workflows, PIDN will turn Polkadot's interoperability promise into an accessible developer advantage.

Grant level

• Level 1: Up to $10,000, 2 approvals
• Level 2: Up to $30,000, 3 approvals
• Level 3: Unlimited, 5 approvals (for >$100k: Web3 Foundation Council approval)

Application Checklist

• The application template has been copied and aptly renamed (project_name.md).
• I have read the application guidelines.
• Payment details have been provided (Polkadot AssetHub (USDC & DOT) address in the application and bank details via email, if applicable).
• I understand that an agreed upon percentage of each milestone will be paid in vested DOT, to the Polkadot address listed in the application.
• I am aware that, in order to receive a grant, I (and the entity I represent) have to successfully complete a KYC/KYB check.
• The software delivered for this grant will be released under an open-source license specified in the application.
• The initial PR contains only one commit (squash and force-push if needed).
• The grant will only be announced once the first milestone has been accepted (see the announcement guidelines).
• I prefer the discussion of this application to take place in a private Element/Matrix channel. My username is: @_______:matrix.org (change the homeserver if you use a different one)

[github-actions]

CLA Assistant Lite bot All contributors have signed the CLA ✍️ ✅

[shivaniD96]

I have read and hereby sign the Contributor License Agreement.

[muddlebee]

Chopsticks by Acala already solves the core problem you are trying to tackle.

[shivaniD96]

@muddlebee
Zombienet and Chopsticks are good tools but they're pretty limited in scope.
Zombienet works well for spinning up quick Substrate testnets in CI. Chopsticks is solid for forking mainnets and debugging XCM stuff. But that's about it - they're Substrate-only.
The bigger issues:

1. Can't test across other chains (Cosmos, Ethereum, etc.)
2. Not really production-like - Chopsticks just simulates with WASM, Zombienet runs local emulations
3. Missing a lot of pieces - no bridges, no real orchestration, no proper observability or SDKs

PIDN is trying to solve a different problem. We want full multi-ecosystem testing that actually works like production:

1. Real nodes running, not simulations
2. Spin up entire cross-chain networks with one command
3. Benchmarking and monitoring built-in
4. Simple config files instead of complex setup

Basically Zombienet/Chopsticks handle Substrate testing fine. We're focused on the much harder problem of testing real interoperability between different blockchain ecosystems.

[muddlebee]

Not really production-like - Chopsticks just simulates with WASM, Zombienet runs local emulations

Chopsticks, Zombienet is already used for production regression/e2e tests, some examples here and here

Missing a lot of pieces - no bridges, no real orchestration, no proper observability or SDKs

Chopsticks is easily compatible with polkadot-api a TS based SDK to interact with substrate chains and XCM use-cases.

Personally, I’ve been using Chopsticks for both dev and production readiness - it’s very handy to emulate the latest chain state quickly.

[shivaniD96]

@muddlebee thanks for the pointers. Chopsticks/Zombienet are solid for Substrate-only e2e/regression and we’ll keep using them (with PAPI) for that surface. PIDN targets a different gap: cross-ecosystem orchestration — Polkadot at the center with ETH/Cosmos/etc nodes + bridges, full-node paths, observability, and CI recipes in one command. We’ll keep our milestones focused on that interop scope.