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Discover & open apps

Find Products on the Polkadot Products Devnet and open them from the app, from Browse, or from a dev-dot.li link.

Ways to reach a Product

There are three practical entry points:

  • Browse — the app-discovery directory at https://browse.dev-dot.li. Search and pick from the list.
  • A .dot domain — each published app has a name such as survey.dot. On the desktop app you can type it into the address bar. The mobile app has no general address bar, so on mobile you open apps from Browse or by following a .dot / .dev-dot.li link.
  • A dev-dot.li link — the web gateway serves each app at https://<name>.dev-dot.li (for example https://survey.dev-dot.li). Open it in an ordinary browser.

You reach the platform through the Polkadot app (mobile and desktop) or the web gateway at https://dev-dot.li. If you do not have the app yet, Get the app has the Android, iOS and desktop downloads.

Find Products in Browse

Browse is a directory of the apps currently published on the network. You cannot publish an app from Browse, but when you are signed in you can recommend (attest to) and bookmark apps, so it is not strictly read-only.

  1. Open https://browse.dev-dot.li, or find Browse inside the Polkadot app.
  2. Use search and categories to narrow the list. Each app is shown with a name, description, and icon.
  3. Some cards carry certificate badges. Treat them as extra context, not as a reason to lower your caution on a devnet.
  4. Select a card to open the app.

Browse reads the Devnet publishing registry and the names attached to published apps. For the technical path behind that list, see Discovery architecture.

Open an app by .dot domain

On the desktop app you can go straight to a name:

  1. Type the app's name — for example survey.dot — into the address bar. (The mobile app has no general address bar; on mobile, open the app from Browse or by following a link instead.)
  2. The app resolves the name, fetches the app bundle, and opens it in a sandboxed webview.

If you are in an ordinary web browser instead, use the gateway form of the same name: https://survey.dev-dot.li.

When a name does not resolve

The gateway resolves names in the browser, so every <name>.dev-dot.li address serves the same Polkadot loader shell first — a typo, an unpublished name and a working app look identical until resolution completes. If the shell never hands over to an app, check the spelling, then look the name up in https://browse.dev-dot.li: a name that is not listed there is not published.

Reference apps to try

These apps are deployed on the devnet and are a good starting point:

App URL What it shows
Browse https://browse.dev-dot.li Directory of published Products
DotNS UI https://dotns.dev-dot.li .dot domain registration and lookup
CDM Frontend https://contracts.dev-dot.li Contract registry frontend
Playground template https://playground-template.dev-dot.li Minimal fork-and-go scaffold
Playground https://playground.dev-dot.li Guided environment to build a sample app
Simple Survey https://survey.dev-dot.li Storage app indexed by a contract
Mercado https://mercado.dev-dot.li Community marketplace
localdot https://localmarket.dev-dot.li Local peer-to-peer marketplace

What happens when you open an app

When you open an app, the client turns the name into content and runs that content in an isolated container:

flowchart TD
  U[You open a .dot domain] --> R[Resolve the name]
  R --> C[Find the published app bundle]
  C --> A[Fetch the app content]
  A --> S[Run in a sandboxed webview]
  S --> H[Ask the host for accounts, signing, chain, and payments]
  H -->|after your approval| K[Your keys stay on your device]

Two properties matter for you as a user:

  • The app is sandboxed. Each app runs in its own isolated webview and cannot read another app's data or reach your keys directly.
  • You approve every action. When an app needs a signature or a payment, the Polkadot app shows you a prompt, and the on-device key signs only after you approve. Your recovery phrase and private keys never leave your device.

Opening one app from another

Inside the Polkadot app, app-to-app navigation stays inside the host. In a plain browser, the same action opens the app at its https://<name>.dev-dot.li address.

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