net_version

The net_version method returns the current network ID as a string. This allows applications to determine which Ethereum network the client is connected to, such as mainnet, testnets, or other EVM-compatible networks.

Use Cases

• Network verification before sending transactions
• Cross-chain compatibility checks in multi-chain applications
• Environment-specific functionality for dApps
• Security validations to prevent sending to wrong networks
• Multi-network dApp development and testing
• Preventing accidental testnet vs mainnet operations
• Smart contract deployment verification
• Wallet network switching confirmation
• Transaction validation safety checks
• Network-specific feature enablement

Method Details

This method requires no parameters and returns a string value representing the network ID.

Response Example

{
	"jsonrpc": "2.0",
	"id": 67,
	"result": "1" // Ethereum Mainnet
}

Common Network IDs

Important Notes

• Network ID is returned as a string, not a number
• Network ID is sometimes the same as Chain ID, but not always
• Some networks may change their network ID over time
• Always verify network ID when developing cross-chain applications
• For security-critical applications, consider using multiple verification methods
• EIP-155 introduced Chain ID for replay protection, which is different from Network ID in some cases
• For transaction signing, Chain ID (from eth_chainId) is usually more relevant than Network ID

Difference Between Network ID and Chain ID

• Network ID: Identifies the network in the P2P protocol
• Chain ID: Used for transaction signing to prevent replay attacks
• For most networks, they are the same value, but there are exceptions
• Always use the appropriate ID for the specific use case

See also

• eth_chainId - Returns the chain ID used for transaction signing
• net_listening - Returns whether the client is actively networking
• net_peerCount - Returns the number of connected peers