This is a mirror of the main Polkadot Forum pre-proposal discussion:
https://forum.polkadot.network/t/pre-proposal-discussion-polkavision-a-live-visual-explorer-for-the-polkadot-ecosystem/18081

Hi everyone,

I’m building PolkaVision, a live visual explorer for the Polkadot ecosystem:

Click here to visit PolkaVision.com

The current prototype is already live. It indexes Polkadot mainnet data hourly and shows the relay chain and parachains in one interactive visual interface.

I’m considering submitting a small Phase 1 Treasury proposal, but before doing that I’d like to get community feedback on whether this would be useful, what should be prioritized, and what scope/funding level would feel reasonable.

Why I’m building this

Polkadot is technically powerful, but it can still be difficult for new users, builders, investors, and even existing community members to understand the ecosystem at a glance.

Information is spread across explorers, parachain websites, governance platforms, documentation, social channels, dashboards, and community posts. This makes it hard to quickly answer basic questions like:

• What parachains are live?
• What does each parachain do?
• Where are the official links, explorers, docs, and GitHub repos?
• What is happening across the ecosystem?
• How does the relay chain connect visually with the rest of the network?
• What signals show ecosystem activity or momentum?

PolkaVision is my attempt to make the Polkadot ecosystem easier to see, explore, and understand.

Current prototype

The current version already provides:

• A live visual graph of the Polkadot relay chain and parachains
• Hourly indexing of Polkadot mainnet data
• A simple way to explore the ecosystem visually
• An early foundation for future governance and ecosystem intelligence features

I shared the prototype on Reddit and received encouraging feedback, along with useful feature requests. Some of the suggestions included:

• Improve mobile graph layout
• Add one-line summaries for referenda
• Add parachain branding/logos
• Add transaction/activity counts over time
• Add direct links to block explorers
• Show active projects inside each parachain
• Make it easier to understand ecosystem gaps and momentum

That feedback made me think there may be value in developing PolkaVision further as a public-good ecosystem explorer.

Reddit Link 1

Possible Phase 1 scope

For a first Treasury proposal, I do not want to ask for a large long-term budget upfront. Instead, I’m considering a focused Phase 1 pilot that would improve the existing prototype and make it more useful and reliable.

Possible Phase 1 deliverables:

1. Data reliability and backend improvements

• Improve the current hourly mainnet indexing pipeline
• Add better caching/database reliability
• Improve backend error handling
• Improve page load performance
• Add visible data freshness indicators
• Document data sources and refresh cadence
• One-line AI or manually curated referendum summaries

2. Visual explorer improvements

• Improve graph readability
• Improve node spacing and labels
• Make the graph easier to understand for first-time users
• Improve hover/click interactions
• Add clearer explanations of what users are seeing

3. Mobile and responsive UX

• Improve mobile graph layout
• Reduce node clumping on smaller screens
• Improve tap interactions
• Improve mobile readability and loading
• Test across desktop, tablet, and mobile screens

4. Parachain discovery links and metadata

• Add official parachain website links where available
• Add explorer links where available
• Add docs/GitHub links where available
• Add basic parachain categories or descriptions where reliable
• Create a metadata structure that can be expanded in future phases

5. Public documentation and reporting

• Publish a public roadmap
• Document data sources and methodology
• Publish at least one progress update
• Publish a final Phase 1 delivery report
• Share completed items, deferred items, and next-step recommendations

Possible funding range

I’m considering a small Phase 1 request in the range of $15k–$20k USDC/USDT for a 6–8 week build.

This is not final. I’m sharing the range here because I would like feedback before deciding whether to submit anything on-chain.

The goal would be to keep the first request modest, deliver visible improvements, and let the community judge whether a future Phase 2 is worthwhile.

What would not be included in Phase 1

To keep the first phase focused, I would likely defer larger features such as:

• Full governance intelligence
• Historical transaction charts
• Advanced ecosystem momentum signals
• App-level project discovery inside each parachain
• News aggregation
• Developer resource hub
• Advanced analytics dashboards

These could be considered later only if Phase 1 is delivered successfully and the community sees value in continuing.

Questions for the community

I’d appreciate honest feedback on the following:

1. Is PolkaVision useful enough to justify a small Treasury-funded Phase 1?
2. Which Phase 1 features would be most valuable?
3. Which features should be removed or deferred?
4. Does a $15k–$20k range feel reasonable for this scope?
5. Should this be structured as one small Phase 1 proposal first, rather than a larger v2 proposal?
6. What data sources should be used for parachain metadata, links, and activity?
7. Should parts of the project be open source? If yes, which parts matter most?
8. What success metrics would make this easy to evaluate?
9. Are there existing tools or teams I should integrate with rather than duplicate?
10. What would make you comfortable voting for or against this if it became a formal proposal?

My current thinking

My current preference is to start small:

• Submit a Phase 1 proposal only if the community sees value
• Keep the first request modest
• Focus on reliability, usability, mobile UX, and parachain discovery
• Publish progress and delivery reports
• Use Phase 1 results to decide whether any future Phase 2 proposal makes sense

The broader vision for PolkaVision is to become a visual intelligence layer for the Polkadot ecosystem, helping users understand parachains, governance, ecosystem activity, and growth signals in one place.

But the immediate goal is much simpler:

Make the existing live prototype more reliable, useful, and transparent for the Polkadot community.

Feedback is very welcome.