| name | compact-reviewer:best-practices |
| description | Use when reviewing Compact contracts for idiomatic patterns, learning recommended practices, or identifying common mistakes to avoid in Midnight smart contract development. |
Best Practices Skill
Guidance on idiomatic Compact patterns and common mistakes to avoid.
When to Use
This skill activates for queries about:
- Idiomatic Compact code
- Best practices and conventions
- Common mistakes
- Recommended patterns
- Library usage
Trigger words: best practices, idiomatic, convention, pattern, recommended, should, ought
Quick Reference
Idiomatic Patterns
| Pattern | Good | Avoid |
|---|
| Authorization | require_owner() helper | Inline auth in every circuit |
| Constants | Named constants | Magic numbers |
| Error handling | Descriptive assertions | Silent failures |
| State access | Controlled via helpers | Direct ledger access everywhere |
| Naming | verb_noun for circuits | Cryptic abbreviations |
Common Mistakes
// ❌ Missing language pragma
// Should be at the top of every file
export circuit example(): [] { }
// ✅ With pragma
pragma language_version >= 0.18.0;
export circuit example(): [] { }
// ❌ Not using Counter for counts
ledger count: Cell<Uint<64>>;
export circuit increment(): [] {
count.write(count.read() + 1);
}
// ✅ Using Counter ADT
ledger count: Counter;
export circuit increment(): [] {
count.increment(1);
}
Review Process
1. Pragma and Imports
Check file structure:
- Pragma present and version specified
- Imports at top (when supported)
- Logical ordering of declarations
2. Type Choices
Verify appropriate types:
- Counter for counts
- Map for key-value pairs
- Set for membership
- Cell for single values
- Vector for fixed-size arrays
3. Pattern Compliance
Check against idioms:
- Authorization extracted to helpers
- Constants defined at top
- Consistent naming
- Documented public interfaces
References
Related Skills
