How to Add Polygon to MetaMask
Step-by-step guide to help dApp developers add Polygon to MetaMask in order to interact with the Matic Network
Setting Up Polygon Tokens and a Custom RPC on MetaMask
Going from Web2 to Web3 isn’t as huge a leap as many developers expect. This is especially true now that we have robust scaling infrastructures such as the Polygon RPC, allowing you to deploy decentralized applications quickly, securely, and easily.
This guide will teach you key features of the Polygon chain and how to add Polygon to MetaMask. You’ll also be able to configure your wallet to interact with your dApp on the Matic mainnet or testnet and add custom tokens to MetaMask.
Firstly, make sure that Polygon is the proper choice for your application.
What is Polygon?
Polygon, previously known as the Matic Network, is a Proof of Stake (POS) scaling solution for web3 applications. In short, it’s a series of protocols designed to make building on Ethereum faster and easier by processing transactions on side chains. As a result, costs are a fraction of those of Ethereum. In addition, the chain can handle 7,000+ transactions a second, compared to Ethereum’s historical 15.
It’s important to note that after the recent transition to POS, Ethereum’s roadmap includes handling 100,000+ transactions a second, but that’s all a future possibility. For now, Polygon is a strong player in the dApp development space, with over 19,000 active applications that have already processed over 1 billion transactions.
It’s also secure and trusted by large fintech companies such as Stripe for handling crypto payouts. Big brands like Adidas and Instagram use the Polygon mainnet for NFT collections.
As such, if you’re a new or seasoned developer entering the Web3 space, their solution has a lot to offer. It’s a robust infrastructure that piggybacks on Ethereum to help quickly scale your dApps for a global audience.
Installing and setting up MetaMask
Millions of users trust MetaMask as their crypto wallet of choice. It serves as a gateway to dApps, with the browser extension connecting Web2 and Web3 to create seamless transactions. Before you can add Matic to MetaMask, set up a wallet with these simple steps:
Step 1 - Download MetaMask for your browser of choice from the official website. BE CAUTIOUS and ensure you get the real extension and avoid phishing sites.
Step 2 - Start configuring your wallet. Note that whether you agree to share data or not won’t affect your experience.
Step 3 - Create a new wallet and come up with a password. Write it down or use a robust password manager.
Step 4 - Get your secret recovery phrase and ensure you store it securely. Remember that it cannot be restored if you lose it.
Step 5 - After you confirm your recovery phrase, your MetaMask is all set.
However, you’ll be connected to Ethereum mainnet by default. From here, you need to add Polygon network to MetaMask:
Configuring the Wallet
Time to make the wallet use RPC Fast. Navigate to the top and add a new network to your list:
Now, log into your RPC Fast Dashboard to find your API key and endpoint. It will look like this:
Copy the endpoint with your API key and use it as the RPC URL. Add details to MetaMask:
Network Name: Polygon Mainnet
New RPC URL: https://polygon-mainnet.rpcfast.com?api_key=YOUR_KEY
Chain ID: 137
Currency symbol: MATIC
Block explorer URL: https://polygonscan.com/
Your final result will look like this:
Alternative Ways to Add Main Chain & Testnet
If you want to connect directly to Polygon, use https://polygon-rpc.com or press the "Add Polygon Network" button in the footer of the Polygonscan website.
To connect to the Mumbai Testnet, use the RPC https://rpc-mumbai.maticvigil.com/ with Chain ID 80001, MATIC currency, and https://mumbai.polygonscan.com/ in the block explorer field.
Your Polygon network MetaMask link is in place. Now you can use the wallet to interact directly with your dApp both on the mainnet and in testnet environments.
Adding Polygon tokens to MetaMask
After adding Polygon to MetaMask, you will already see MATIC tokens in your wallet. MetaMask also makes it easy to add new tokens, for example, if you’re minting your own in a dApp. Here’s how you can do it in two steps:
Navigate to the bottom of your wallet and hit Import Tokens.
Specify your address, token symbol, and decimal. In this case, it’s TST on a test contract.
Now that you’ve finished the Polygon MetaMask setup, you can allow users to interact with your dApp directly and unlock the full potential of Web3 with the help of RPC Fast.
Сonclusion
Setting up Polygon on MetaMask allows you to bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3, interacting with your dApp from a browser extension. All you need to do is create a wallet, connect it to your RPC Fast API, and add any tokens you plan to work with.
From now on, you can interact with the chain and build amazing things with the help of Polygon’s robust scaling and lightning-fast transaction speed.
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