Practical overview
When it fits
Use Common when a Polkadot or Substrate project needs the shared utility packages maintained for the polkadot-js family, or when contributing to those packages.
Who it is for
- Developers building applications in the polkadot-js ecosystem.
- Contributors working on shared Polkadot or Substrate utility libraries.
Documented uses
- Manage keyrings through a shared library package.
- Reuse general-purpose utility functions across applications.
- Use cryptographic and hashing helpers in Polkadot.js projects.
Requirements & limits
The repository is public and specifies the Apache-2.0 license.
- The repository is organized as internal packages for keyring management, general utilities, and crypto and hashing.
- Development dependencies should be installed with Yarn; the README warns that npm can result in broken dependencies.
- The README documents Node.js and Yarn prerequisites and a repository build command.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Set up the Common repository for development
Clone the repository, install its workspace dependencies, and build the project.
Before you start
- Node.js; the README recommends Node 10 for development.
- Yarn 1.10.1 or later.
Steps
Clone the repository with the command below.
git clone https://github.com/polkadot-js/commonFrom the repository, install dependencies with
yarn.Run
yarn run build.
Expected outcome
The repository dependencies are installed and the README's build command has been run.
Guide limitations
- The README warns that using npm instead of Yarn can result in broken dependencies.
- The documented steps do not establish that the build succeeds in a particular environment.
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 10 October 2026
- Original website title
- polkadot-js/common · Official homepage title · retained in its source language

