--- title: dotNS Reference description: Reference for dotNS — the .dot name system on Asset Hub that resolves Product names to published bundles, with PopRules pricing and contract architecture. categories: - Apps - Reference url: https://docs.polkadot.com/reference/apps/infrastructure/dotns/ word_count: 528 token_estimate: 879 version_hash: sha256:e704c571bc642d5f733595adb9cf6b8c0471ef7116ce802b53936a7b706dd5a3 last_updated: '2026-06-16T14:17:44+00:00' --- # dotNS ## Introduction dotNS is Polkadot's decentralized name service for Products — the registry that turns a human-readable `.dot` name like `awesome.dot` into the published Polkadot Product it points at. It's the lookup every Host runs whenever a user navigates to a `.dot` address. If you have used a DNS provider, the role is similar: human-readable names map to content. The differences: dotNS is on-chain (no DNS provider in the middle), name resolution returns a [Content Identifier (CID)](/reference/glossary/#content-identifier-cid) for a Product bundle (not an IP address), and pricing is tied to [Proof of Personhood](/reference/apps/infrastructure/pop/) so spam farming short names is bounded. Four properties shape how a Product developer interacts with dotNS: - **The registry lives on Asset Hub**: Names, owners, and the content references they point at are stored as contract state on Asset Hub, not on the People Chain or Bulletin Chain. - **Name resolution is content-addressed at the end**: A `.dot` name resolves to a CID, and the CID points at bytes on the [Bulletin Chain](/reference/apps/infrastructure/bulletin-chain/) (or via an IPFS gateway). See [Name Mechanism](/reference/apps/infrastructure/dotns/name-mechanism/). - **Pricing is personhood-gated by PopRules**: Short names are free for personhood holders; longer or numerically-suffixed names are open to anyone but require a deposit. See [PopRules and Pricing](/reference/apps/infrastructure/dotns/poprules-pricing/). - **The architecture is a small set of cooperating contracts**: Not a single registrar — a set of contracts each handling a slice of the model. See [Architecture](/reference/apps/infrastructure/dotns/architecture/). For the Product-side how-to (registering a name, publishing your bundle), see [Register and Publish](/apps/deploy-your-app/). !!! warning "Known gaps" Two operational caveats apply to the current dotNS surface: - **Self-declared PoP tier**: dotNS reads PoP tier from a status the user sets themselves. On-chain verification of PoP tier against the People Chain is a forthcoming integration; until then, treat the tier check as cooperative, not adversarial. - **Operational runbook gaps**: Some operator-side procedures (migration, batch updates, contract upgrade paths) are not yet documented for this build. The reference here covers the developer-facing surface. ## Where to Go Next
- Learn **Name Mechanism** --- How a `.dot` name resolves to a Product bundle — `namehash` derivation, the `contenthash` → CID mapping, and the IPFS/Bulletin delivery path. [:octicons-arrow-right-24: Reference](/reference/apps/infrastructure/dotns/name-mechanism/) - Learn **Architecture** --- The contract architecture on Asset Hub that backs the registry — what each contract is responsible for and how they cooperate. [:octicons-arrow-right-24: Reference](/reference/apps/infrastructure/dotns/architecture/) - Learn **PopRules and Pricing** --- The pricing ladder for name registration: who can register what at what cost, organized by name length and PoP tier. [:octicons-arrow-right-24: Reference](/reference/apps/infrastructure/dotns/poprules-pricing/) - Guide **Register and Publish** --- The Product-side how-to: registering a `.dot` name, attaching your published Product bundle, and going live. [:octicons-arrow-right-24: Get Started](/apps/deploy-your-app/)