Midnight Deploy

Deploy Midnight smart contracts to local development environment or preview network (testnet).

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Deploying a new Compact contract
• Starting local Midnight infrastructure
• Connecting to preview network (testnet)
• Troubleshooting deployment issues
• Setting up development environment

How It Works

1. Compiles Compact contract to WebAssembly + ZK circuits
2. Starts required infrastructure (node, indexer, proof server)
3. Deploys contract with initial state
4. Returns contract address for frontend integration

Prerequisites

Before deploying, ensure you have:

# Check Compact compiler
compact check

# Check Node.js
node -v  # v23+

# Check Docker (for local infrastructure)
docker -v

Local Development (Standalone)

Start Local Infrastructure

# From project root
npm run setup-standalone

This starts:

• Midnight Node: ws://127.0.0.1:9944
• Indexer: http://127.0.0.1:8088
• Proof Server: http://127.0.0.1:6300

Deploy to Local

# Build contract first
cd counter-contract
npm run build

# Deploy via CLI
cd ../counter-cli
npm run deploy:local

Preview Network (Testnet)

Configure Environment

Create counter-cli/.env:

MY_PREVIEW_MNEMONIC="your twelve word mnemonic phrase here"
MY_UNDEPLOYED_UNSHIELDED_ADDRESS=""

Get Test Tokens

1. Visit Midnight Faucet
2. Enter your wallet address
3. Receive tSTAR tokens

Deploy to Preview

# Build contract
cd counter-contract
npm run build

# Deploy to testnet
cd ../counter-cli
npm run deploy:preview

Deployment Output

Successful deployment returns:

{
  "contractAddress": "0x1234567890abcdef...",
  "deploymentTxHash": "0xabcdef1234567890...",
  "network": "preview",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

Configure Frontend

After deployment, update frontend environment:

# frontend-vite-react/.env
VITE_CONTRACT_ADDRESS="0x1234567890abcdef..."

Network Configuration

Local (Standalone)

const config = {
  node: "ws://127.0.0.1:9944",
  indexer: "http://127.0.0.1:8088",
  proofServer: "http://127.0.0.1:6300",
};

Preview (Testnet)

const config = {
  node: "wss://rpc.preview.midnight.network",
  indexer: "https://indexer.preview.midnight.network",
  proofServer: "https://proof.preview.midnight.network",
};

Deployment Script

For automated deployments, use:

bash /path/to/skills/midnight-deploy/scripts/deploy.sh [network] [contract-path]

Arguments:

• network - Target network: local or preview (default: local)
• contract-path - Path to contract directory (default: current directory)

Examples:

# Deploy to local
bash scripts/deploy.sh local ./counter-contract

# Deploy to preview testnet
bash scripts/deploy.sh preview ./counter-contract

Present Results to User

After successful deployment:

Deployment successful!

Contract Address: 0x1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef12345678
Network: preview
Transaction: 0xabcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef12

Next steps:
1. Update VITE_CONTRACT_ADDRESS in frontend-vite-react/.env
2. Start frontend: npm run dev:frontend
3. Connect wallet and interact with contract

Troubleshooting

Docker Not Running

Error: Cannot connect to Docker daemon

Solution: Start Docker Desktop or Docker daemon

Compact Compiler Not Found

Error: compact: command not found

Solution: Install Compact compiler:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf \
  https://github.com/midnightntwrk/compact/releases/latest/download/compact-installer.sh | sh
compact update +0.27.0

Insufficient Funds

Error: Insufficient balance for transaction

Solution: Get test tokens from faucet

Proof Server Timeout

Error: Proof generation timeout

Solution:

• Check proof server is running
• Simplify circuit complexity
• Increase timeout in config

Contract Already Deployed

Error: Contract at address already exists

Solution: Use a new deployment or join existing contract

Deployment Checklist

• Contract compiled successfully (npm run build)
• Tests passing (npm run test)
• Environment variables configured (.env)
• Wallet funded with tSTAR (for preview)
• Infrastructure running (for local)
• Contract address saved
• Frontend configured

References

• Midnight Deployment Guide
• Preview Network
• Starter Template