An overview of the Rollup NFT capable SDKs.

NFT SDKs in Polkadot ecosystem

Polkadot provides APIs for direct access to pallets, or SDKs that wrap internals into a more convenient and specialized way to develop and maintain dApps. Polkadot offers the Polkadot API (PAPI) that provides a direct way to develop dApps and mint NFTs. In a similar approach Dedot provides a lightweight SDK that attempts to optimise code bulk and speed. A summary of capabilities of PAPI and Dedot is available in the PAPI vs Dedot APIs for NFT dApps report.

Unique Network's SDK allows fast and easy development with their approach applied to both Asset Hub and their native pallets unifying the NFT experience across chains. Apillon also provides a way to deploy contracts and mint NFTs but via a Web3 drag-and-drop interface on Moonbeam, Astar, Asset Hub and Unique Network. As a general purpose SDK, the Apillon API provides all the elements necessary to access the underlying processes making it a viable albeit somewhat different approach.

NFT SDK

The Role of the NFT SDK

A blockchain SDK (Software Development Kit) is a middleware layer providing developers with a set of tools, libraries, and documentation to build NFT applications on top of the Polkadot ecosystem. Why NFT SDKs Are Needed Faster onboarding – Learning takes hours instead of weeks, and a basic minter can be built in a day. Faster development - less complex and many scenarios are pre-built Future-proofing – SDKs manage Polkadot runtime changes automatically, reducing maintenance efforts. Improved performance – REST APIs enable efficient transactions, optimizing dApp speed and reducing overhead. Specific dApp value NFT Marketplaces – Simplifies minting, trading, and metadata management. Wallet Interfaces – Provides standardized API for seamless NFT transfers and updates. Gaming Apps – Enables batch minting, asset management, and in-game NFT transactions. Other dApp Asset Pages – Ensures reliable NFT data retrieval and custom transaction execution without manual blockchain integration.

Polkadot API (PAPI)

PAPI is a TypeScript-based light API client developed to offer a browser-friendly alternative to Polkadot.js. PAPI is recommended when working on dApps that may benefit from long-term ecosystem alignment or require decentralized connectivity options. Originally backed by Parity, PAPI benefited from early ecosystem support and alignment with official tooling standards.

Developers must manually maintain runtime changes. See the full feature list here.

• Light client first – Built-in Smoldot integration supports fully decentralized use in browsers without RPC nodes.
• Bundle size – For WebSocket mode: 643 kB parsed / 194 kB gzip. For light client mode: 5584 kB parsed / 2993 kB gzip. In practice, the full bundle size in an example NFT minting application was larger than expected, exceeding Dedot's size despite a smaller core.
• Strong documentation – The official site includes clear guides, usage patterns, and real-world project references.

Dedot SDK

Dedot is a lightweight JavaScript/TypeScript API client designed for quick onboarding and efficient use in browser-based NFT apps. While smaller and community-driven, it provides a surprisingly complete feature set and an intuitive API familiar to developers coming from Polkadot.js. See the full feature list here.

• Flexible connectivity – Supports both RPC and Smoldot (light client) with manual configuration.
• Bundle size – For WebSocket mode: 160 kB parsed / 50 kB gzip. For light client mode: 2866 kB parsed / 2157 kB gzip. These measurements are based on an example NFT minting application.
• Quick setup – For supported chains, no code generation is needed. Otherwise, CLI generation is similar to PAPI.
• Docs and community – strong documentation, migration guides, and a responsive core developer. Also includes a live playground.

Polkadot.JS

Polkadot{.js} is the legacy API tool for interacting with Polkadot. It provides direct access to blockchain functionality, making it essential for low-level integrations and complex dApp architectures. However, working with raw extrinsics and runtime upgrades requires deep Polkadot knowledge and significant development effort.

• Powerful but complex – Best suited for advanced developers familiar with Substrate and Polkadot internals.
• Takes time to master – Learning curve spans weeks, and building even a simple minter can take a week or more.
• Requires continuous maintenance – Developers must manually handle Polkadot runtime changes and network upgrades.

Unique Network SDK

The SDK facilitates seamless integration of Unique Network's capabilities into the Web3 application, bypassing the need for direct low-level API interaction. It enables you to effortlessly mint collections and tokens, manage account balances, and more. Developers do not need to maintain runtime changes - the remote procedure server is always up-to-date. The quick-start is here.

Existing NFT SDKs list

	Polksdot{.js}	PAPI	Dedot	Apillon	Unique Network
Docs	Polkadot{.js}	PAPI	Dedot	Unique Network SDK	Documentation
GitHub	Public	Public	Public	Public	Private
Indexes NFT pallet	basic (Subscan)	basic (Subscan)	basic (Subscan)	UniqueNetwork Pallet Can be extended	UniqueNetwork Pallet Pallet NFTs (MVP) Pallet Uniques (MVP)
Platforms	Web/JS	Web/TS	Web/JS	Web/JS	Web/TS

Conclusions

• Polkadot{.js} remains as a legacy platform. A complex development environment, challenging to work with but very universal.
• PAPI provides an updated, more streamlined approach to building dApps and minting NFTs than it's predecessor.
• Dedot offers a similar experience but puts emphasis on code size and performance optimisation.
• Apillon SDK provides a very convenient approach as it follows the user-friendly web building process.
• Unique Network SDK is optimised for fast NFT dApp development for both the native chain and AssetHub, and can be extended to any other Rollup (parachain).