--- title: "Query Account Information with SDKs" description: "Learn how to query account information using five popular SDKs—Polkadot API (PAPI), Polkadot.js API, Dedot, Python Substrate Interface, and Subxt." categories: "Chain Interactions, Tooling" url: "https://developers.polkadot.com/chain-interactions/accounts/query-accounts/" word_count: 2686 token_estimate: 6187 version_hash: "sha256:122076a026706a7445056de96f60db4c29811d1bedff2d071d5c60fffff9730b" last_updated: "2026-11-13T11:04:04+00:00" --- # Query Account Information with SDKs ## Introduction Querying account information is a fundamental operation when interacting with Polkadot SDK-based blockchains. Account queries allow you to retrieve balances, nonces, account data, and other state information stored on-chain. Each SDK provides different methods for accessing this data efficiently. This guide demonstrates how to query account information using five popular SDKs: - **[Polkadot API (PAPI)](/reference/tools/papi/)**: Modern TypeScript library with type-safe APIs - **[Polkadot.js API](/reference/tools/polkadot-js-api/)**: Comprehensive JavaScript library (maintenance mode) - **[Dedot](/reference/tools/dedot/)**: Lightweight TypeScript library optimized for performance - **[Python Substrate Interface](/reference/tools/py-substrate-interface/)**: Python library for Substrate chains - **[Subxt](/reference/tools/subxt/)**: Rust library with compile-time type safety Select your preferred SDK below to see complete, runnable examples that query account information on Polkadot Hub. ## Prerequisites - Access to a Polkadot SDK-compatible blockchain endpoint (WebSocket URL) - An account address to query (can be any valid SS58 address) ## Query Account Information **PAPI** **Prerequisites** - [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) v18 or higher - npm, pnpm, or yarn package manager **Environment Setup** 1. Create and initialize a new project: ```bash mkdir papi-query-account-example && cd papi-query-account-example && \ npm init -y && npm pkg set type=module ``` 2. Install dependencies: ```bash npm install polkadot-api@3.3.0 && \ npm install --save-dev @types/node tsx typescript ``` 3. Generate types for Polkadot Hub: ```bash npx papi add polkadotTestNet -w wss://asset-hub-paseo.dotters.network ``` **Query Account Data** The following example queries account information including balance, nonce, and other account data. Create a file named `query-account.ts` and add the following code to it: ```typescript title="query-account.ts" import { createClient } from 'polkadot-api'; import { getWsProvider } from 'polkadot-api/ws'; import { polkadotTestNet } from '@polkadot-api/descriptors'; const POLKADOT_HUB_RPC = 'INSERT_WS_ENDPOINT'; const ACCOUNT_ADDRESS = 'INSERT_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS'; const PAS_UNITS = 10_000_000_000; async function main() { try { // Create the client connection const client = createClient(getWsProvider(POLKADOT_HUB_RPC)); // Get the typed API const api = client.getTypedApi(polkadotTestNet); console.log('Connected to Polkadot Hub'); console.log(`\nQuerying account: ${ACCOUNT_ADDRESS}\n`); // Query account information const accountInfo = await api.query.System.Account.getValue( ACCOUNT_ADDRESS ); // Display account information console.log('Account Information:'); console.log('==================='); console.log(`Nonce: ${accountInfo.nonce}`); console.log(`Consumers: ${accountInfo.consumers}`); console.log(`Providers: ${accountInfo.providers}`); console.log(`Sufficients: ${accountInfo.sufficients}`); console.log('\nBalance Details:'); console.log('================'); console.log( `Free Balance: ${accountInfo.data.free} (${ Number(accountInfo.data.free) / PAS_UNITS } PAS)` ); console.log( `Reserved Balance: ${accountInfo.data.reserved} (${ Number(accountInfo.data.reserved) / PAS_UNITS } PAS)` ); console.log( `Frozen Balance: ${accountInfo.data.frozen} (${ Number(accountInfo.data.frozen) / PAS_UNITS } PAS)` ); const total = Number(accountInfo.data.free) + Number(accountInfo.data.reserved); console.log(`\nTotal Balance: ${total} (${total / PAS_UNITS} PAS)`); await client.destroy(); console.log('\nDisconnected'); } catch (error) { console.error('Error:', error); process.exit(1); } } main(); ``` :::note Ensure to replace `INSERT_WS_ENDPOINT` with a valid WebSocket endpoint (e.g., `wss://asset-hub-paseo.dotters.network`) and `INSERT_ADDRESS` with the account address you want to query. ::: Run the script: ```bash npx tsx query-account.ts ``` You should see output similar to:
npx tsx query-account.ts Connected to Polkadot Hub Querying account: 5GgbDVeKZwCmMHzn58iFSgSZDTojRMM52arXnuNXto28R7mg Account Information: =================== Nonce: 15 Consumers: 0 Providers: 1 Sufficients: 0 Balance Details: ================ Free Balance: 59781317040 (5.978131704 PAS) Reserved Balance: 0 (0 PAS) Frozen Balance: 0 (0 PAS) Total Balance: 59781317040 (5.978131704 PAS) Disconnected
**Polkadot.js** :::caution[Maintenance Mode Only] The Polkadot.js API is no longer actively developed. New projects should use [PAPI](/reference/tools/papi/) or [Dedot](/reference/tools/dedot/) as actively maintained alternatives. ::: **Prerequisites** - [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) v18 or higher - npm, pnpm, or yarn package manager **Environment Setup** 1. Create and initialize a new project: ```bash mkdir pjs-query-account-example && cd pjs-query-account-example && \ npm init -y && npm pkg set type=module ``` 2. Install dependencies: ```bash npm install @polkadot/api ``` **Query Account Data** The following example queries account information including balance, nonce, and other account data. Create a file named `query-account.js` and add the following code to it: ```javascript title="query-account.js" import { ApiPromise, WsProvider } from '@polkadot/api'; const POLKADOT_HUB_RPC = 'INSERT_WS_ENDPOINT'; const ACCOUNT_ADDRESS = 'INSERT_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS'; const PAS_UNITS = 10_000_000_000; async function main() { // Create a WebSocket provider const wsProvider = new WsProvider(POLKADOT_HUB_RPC); // Initialize the API const api = await ApiPromise.create({ provider: wsProvider }); console.log('Connected to Polkadot Hub'); console.log(`\nQuerying account: ${ACCOUNT_ADDRESS}\n`); // Query account information const accountInfo = await api.query.system.account(ACCOUNT_ADDRESS); // Display account information console.log('Account Information:'); console.log('==================='); console.log(`Nonce: ${accountInfo.nonce.toString()}`); console.log(`Consumers: ${accountInfo.consumers.toString()}`); console.log(`Providers: ${accountInfo.providers.toString()}`); console.log(`Sufficients: ${accountInfo.sufficients.toString()}`); console.log('\nBalance Details:'); console.log('================'); console.log( `Free Balance: ${accountInfo.data.free.toString()} (${ Number(accountInfo.data.free.toBigInt()) / PAS_UNITS } PAS)` ); console.log( `Reserved Balance: ${accountInfo.data.reserved.toString()} (${ Number(accountInfo.data.reserved.toBigInt()) / PAS_UNITS } PAS)` ); console.log( `Frozen Balance: ${accountInfo.data.frozen.toString()} (${ Number(accountInfo.data.frozen.toBigInt()) / PAS_UNITS } PAS)` ); const total = Number(accountInfo.data.free.toBigInt()) + Number(accountInfo.data.reserved.toBigInt()); console.log(`\nTotal Balance: ${total} (${total / PAS_UNITS} PAS)`); // Disconnect from the node await api.disconnect(); console.log('\nDisconnected'); } main().catch(console.error); ``` :::note Ensure to replace `INSERT_WS_ENDPOINT` with a valid WebSocket endpoint (e.g., `wss://asset-hub-paseo.dotters.network`) and `INSERT_ADDRESS` with the account address you want to query. ::: Run the script: ```bash node query-account.js ``` You should see output similar to:
node query-account.js Connected to Polkadot Hub Querying account: 5GgbDVeKZwCmMHzn58iFSgSZDTojRMM52arXnuNXto28R7mg Account Information: =================== Nonce: 15 Consumers: 0 Providers: 1 Sufficients: 0 Balance Details: ================ Free Balance: 59781317040 (5.978131704 PAS) Reserved Balance: 0 (0 PAS) Frozen Balance: 0 (0 PAS) Total Balance: 59781317040 (5.978131704 PAS) Disconnected
**Dedot** **Prerequisites** - [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) v18 or higher - npm, pnpm, or yarn package manager **Environment Setup** 1. Create and initialize a new project: ```bash mkdir dedot-query-account-example && cd dedot-query-account-example && \ npm init -y && npm pkg set type=module ``` 2. Install dependencies: ```bash npm install dedot && \ npm install --save-dev @dedot/chaintypes @types/node tsx typescript ``` **Query Account Data** The following example queries account information including balance, nonce, and other account data. Create a file named `query-account.ts` and add the following code to it: ```typescript title="query-account.ts" import { DedotClient, WsProvider } from 'dedot'; import type { PolkadotAssetHubApi } from '@dedot/chaintypes'; const POLKADOT_HUB_RPC = 'INSERT_WS_ENDPOINT'; const ACCOUNT_ADDRESS = 'INSERT_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS'; const PAS_UNITS = 10_000_000_000; async function main() { // Initialize provider and client with Asset Hub types const provider = new WsProvider(POLKADOT_HUB_RPC); const client = await DedotClient.new(provider); console.log('Connected to Polkadot Hub'); console.log(`\nQuerying account: ${ACCOUNT_ADDRESS}\n`); // Query account information const accountInfo = await client.query.system.account(ACCOUNT_ADDRESS); // Display account information console.log('Account Information:'); console.log('==================='); console.log(`Nonce: ${accountInfo.nonce}`); console.log(`Consumers: ${accountInfo.consumers}`); console.log(`Providers: ${accountInfo.providers}`); console.log(`Sufficients: ${accountInfo.sufficients}`); console.log('\nBalance Details:'); console.log('================'); console.log( `Free Balance: ${accountInfo.data.free} (${ Number(accountInfo.data.free) / PAS_UNITS } PAS)` ); console.log( `Reserved Balance: ${accountInfo.data.reserved} (${ Number(accountInfo.data.reserved) / PAS_UNITS } PAS)` ); console.log( `Frozen Balance: ${accountInfo.data.frozen} (${ Number(accountInfo.data.frozen) / PAS_UNITS } PAS)` ); const total = Number(accountInfo.data.free) + Number(accountInfo.data.reserved); console.log(`\nTotal Balance: ${total} (${total / PAS_UNITS} PAS)`); // Disconnect the client await client.disconnect(); console.log('\nDisconnected from Polkadot Hub'); } main().catch(console.error); ``` :::note Ensure to replace `INSERT_WS_ENDPOINT` with a valid WebSocket endpoint (e.g., `wss://asset-hub-paseo.dotters.network`) and `INSERT_ADDRESS` with the account address you want to query. ::: Run the script: ```bash npx tsx query-account.ts ``` You should see output similar to:
npx tsx query-account.ts Connected to Polkadot Hub Querying account: 5GgbDVeKZwCmMHzn58iFSgSZDTojRMM52arXnuNXto28R7mg Account Information: =================== Nonce: 15 Consumers: 0 Providers: 1 Sufficients: 0 Balance Details: ================ Free Balance: 59781317040 (5.978131704 PAS) Reserved Balance: 0 (0 PAS) Frozen Balance: 0 (0 PAS) Total Balance: 59781317040 (5.978131704 PAS) Disconnected from Polkadot Hub
**Python Substrate Interface** **Prerequisites** - [Python](https://www.python.org/) 3.8 or higher - pip package manager **Environment Setup** 1. Create a new project directory and set up a virtual environment: ```bash mkdir psi-query-account-example && cd psi-query-account-example && \ python3 -m venv venv && source venv/bin/activate ``` 2. Install the substrate-interface package: ```bash pip install substrate-interface ``` **Query Account Data** The following example queries account information including balance, nonce, and other account data. Create a file named `query_account.py` and add the following code to it: ```python title="query_account.py" from substrateinterface import SubstrateInterface POLKADOT_HUB_RPC = "INSERT_WS_ENDPOINT" ACCOUNT_ADDRESS = "INSERT_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS" PAS_UNITS = 10_000_000_000 def main(): # Connect to Polkadot Hub substrate = SubstrateInterface(url=POLKADOT_HUB_RPC) print("Connected to Polkadot Hub") print(f"\nQuerying account: {ACCOUNT_ADDRESS}\n") # Query account information account_info = substrate.query( module="System", storage_function="Account", params=[ACCOUNT_ADDRESS] ) # Display account information print("Account Information:") print("===================") print(f"Nonce: {account_info.value['nonce']}") print(f"Consumers: {account_info.value['consumers']}") print(f"Providers: {account_info.value['providers']}") print(f"Sufficients: {account_info.value['sufficients']}") print("\nBalance Details:") print("================") free_balance = account_info.value["data"]["free"] reserved_balance = account_info.value["data"]["reserved"] frozen_balance = account_info.value["data"]["frozen"] print(f"Free Balance: {free_balance} ({free_balance / PAS_UNITS} PAS)") print( f"Reserved Balance: {reserved_balance} ({reserved_balance / PAS_UNITS} PAS)" ) print(f"Frozen Balance: {frozen_balance} ({frozen_balance / PAS_UNITS} PAS)") total = free_balance + reserved_balance print(f"\nTotal Balance: {total} ({total / PAS_UNITS} PAS)") # Close connection substrate.close() print("\nDisconnected") if __name__ == "__main__": main() ``` :::note Ensure to replace `INSERT_WS_ENDPOINT` with a valid WebSocket endpoint (e.g., `wss://asset-hub-paseo.dotters.network`) and `INSERT_ADDRESS` with the account address you want to query. ::: Run the script: ```bash python query_account.py ``` You should see output similar to:
python3 query_account.py Connected to Polkadot Hub Querying account: 5GgbDVeKZwCmMHzn58iFSgSZDTojRMM52arXnuNXto28R7mg Account Information: =================== Nonce: 15 Consumers: 0 Providers: 1 Sufficients: 0 Balance Details: ================ Free Balance: 59781317040 (5.978131704 PAS) Reserved Balance: 0 (0.0 PAS) Frozen Balance: 0 (0.0 PAS) Total Balance: 59781317040 (5.978131704 PAS) Disconnected
**Subxt** **Prerequisites** - [Rust](https://rustup.rs/) toolchain (latest stable) - Cargo package manager **Environment Setup** 1. Create a new Rust project: ```bash cargo new subxt-query-account-example && cd subxt-query-account-example ``` 2. Install the Subxt CLI: ```bash cargo install subxt-cli@0.50.0 ``` 3. Download the Polkadot Hub metadata: ```bash subxt metadata --url INSERT_WS_ENDPOINT -o polkadot_testnet_metadata.scale ``` 4. Update `Cargo.toml` with the required dependencies: ```toml title="Cargo.toml" [package] name = "subxt-query-account-example" version = "0.1.0" edition = "2021" [[bin]] name = "query_account" path = "src/bin/query_account.rs" [dependencies] subxt = { version = "0.50.0" } tokio = { version = "1.36.0", features = ["macros", "rt"] } ``` **Query Account Data** The following example queries account information including balance, nonce, and other account data. Create a file at `src/bin/query_account.rs` and add the following code to it: ```rust title="src/bin/query_account.rs" use std::str::FromStr; use subxt::utils::AccountId32; use subxt::{OnlineClient, PolkadotConfig}; // Generate an interface from the node's metadata #[subxt::subxt(runtime_metadata_path = "polkadot_testnet_metadata.scale")] pub mod polkadot_testnet {} const POLKADOT_TESTNET_RPC: &str = "INSERT_WS_ENDPOINT"; const ACCOUNT_ADDRESS: &str = "INSERT_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS"; const PAS_UNITS: u128 = 10_000_000_000; #[tokio::main(flavor = "current_thread")] async fn main() -> Result<(), Box> { // Initialize the Subxt client let api = OnlineClient::::from_url(POLKADOT_TESTNET_RPC).await?; // Anchor to the current block let at_block = api.at_current_block().await?; println!("Connected to Polkadot Hub"); // Convert the account address into an AccountId32 let account = AccountId32::from_str(ACCOUNT_ADDRESS)?; println!("\nQuerying account: {}\n", account); // Query account information let account_storage = at_block .storage() .entry(polkadot_testnet::storage().system().account())?; let info = account_storage .fetch((account,)) .await? .decode()?; // Display account information println!("Account Information:"); println!("==================="); println!("Nonce: {}", info.nonce); println!("Consumers: {}", info.consumers); println!("Providers: {}", info.providers); println!("Sufficients: {}", info.sufficients); println!("\nBalance Details:"); println!("================"); println!( "Free Balance: {} ({} PAS)", info.data.free, info.data.free as f64 / PAS_UNITS as f64 ); println!( "Reserved Balance: {} ({} PAS)", info.data.reserved, info.data.reserved as f64 / PAS_UNITS as f64 ); println!( "Frozen Balance: {} ({} PAS)", info.data.frozen, info.data.frozen as f64 / PAS_UNITS as f64 ); let total = info.data.free + info.data.reserved; println!( "\nTotal Balance: {} ({} PAS)", total, total as f64 / PAS_UNITS as f64 ); println!("\nDisconnected"); Ok(()) } ``` :::note Ensure to replace `INSERT_WS_ENDPOINT` with a valid WebSocket endpoint (e.g., `wss://asset-hub-paseo.dotters.network`) and `INSERT_ADDRESS` with the account address you want to query. ::: Run the script: ```bash cargo run --bin query_account ``` You should see output similar to:
cargo run --bin query_account Connected to Polkadot Hub Querying account: 5GgbDVeKZwCmMHzn58iFSgSZDTojRMM52arXnuNXto28R7mg Account Information: =================== Nonce: 15 Consumers: 0 Providers: 1 Sufficients: 0 Balance Details: ================ Free Balance: 59781317040 (5.978131704 PAS) Reserved Balance: 0 (0 PAS) Frozen Balance: 0 (0 PAS) Total Balance: 59781317040 (5.978131704 PAS) Disconnected
## Understanding Account Data When querying account information, you'll receive several key fields: - **Nonce**: The number of transactions sent from this account, used to prevent replay attacks. - **Consumers**: The number of modules depending on this account's existence. - **Providers**: The number of modules providing for this account's existence. - **Sufficients**: The number of modules that allow this account to exist on its own. - **Free Balance**: The transferable balance available for transactions. - **Reserved Balance**: Balance that is locked for specific purposes (staking, governance, etc.). - **Frozen Balance**: Balance that cannot be used for transfers but may be used for other operations. The total balance is the sum of free and reserved balances. ## Where to Go Next
- **Query On-Chain State** --- Explore other types of storage queries. [→ Get Started](/chain-interactions/query-data/query-sdks/) - **Send Transactions** --- Learn how to construct and submit transactions. [→ Get Started](/chain-interactions/send-transactions/with-sdks/)