| name | example-payment-dapp |
| description | Use this skill whenever building, debugging, or extending a privacy-preserving payment dApp on the Midnight Network using the 1AM wallet, Compact smart contracts, and Next.js. Triggers include: any mention of Midnight Network, Compact contracts, tNIGHT tokens, 1AM wallet integration, ZK proving assets, midnight-js SDK, or deploying/calling circuits (deposit, withdraw). Also use when the user encounters errors like "Invalid character 'm' at position 0", "offset: null" GraphQL errors, balanceUnsealedTransaction failures, or WASM/WebSocket issues in Next.js with Midnight packages. Use this skill even for partial tasks like wiring a single provider, decoding ledger state, or debugging a stuck deploy transaction.
|
Midnight Network Payment DApp
A privacy-preserving payment vault: users deposit/withdraw tNIGHT through a Compact
smart contract with zero gas fees via the 1AM wallet.
Workflow
When helping the user, follow this sequence:
- Detect where they are: Contract authoring → Provider setup → Deploy → Circuit calls → Indexer/state polling → UI
- Check for known gotchas first (see
references/gotchas.md) before writing any provider or circuit code
- Copy provider wiring from
references/midnight-session.md (canonical lib/midnight.ts for all browser dApps)
- Use low-level SDK functions (
createUnprovenDeployTx, submitTxAsync, submitCallTxAsync) — never the high-level wrappers (deployContract, createProofProvider) which are broken on preprod
- Always wrap the public data provider with the patched version to avoid the GraphQL
offset: null bug
Architecture
Browser (Next.js)
├── app/payment/PaymentClient.tsx ← client component (all UI + logic)
├── lib/midnight.ts ← wallet detection, session, providers (see references/midnight-session.md)
├── lib/payment.ts ← deploy, deposit, withdraw
└── public/zk/payment/ ← ZK proving assets (synced from contract build)
1AM Extension
├── detectWallet() → window.midnight['1am']
├── api.connect('preprod')
├── api.getConfiguration() → { networkId, indexerUri, ... }
├── api.getUnshieldedAddress()
├── api.getShieldedAddresses()
├── api.balanceUnsealedTransaction(hex)
└── api.submitTransaction(hex)
Transaction flow:
- Detect 1AM wallet → connect → create session with all providers
- Deploy contract (low-level) → store address + private state
- Deposit: call
receiveUnshielded circuit → poll indexer for state update
- Withdraw: call
sendUnshielded circuit (owner only) → poll indexer
Compact Contract
pragma language_version >= 0.20;
import CompactStandardLibrary;
export ledger balance: Uint<128>;
export ledger totalDeposited: Uint<128>;
export ledger totalWithdrawn: Uint<128>;
export ledger owner: Bytes<32>;
witness ownerKey(): Bytes<32>;
constructor() {
balance = 0;
totalDeposited = 0;
totalWithdrawn = 0;
owner = disclose(deriveKey(ownerKey()));
}
export circuit deposit(amount: Uint<128>): [] {
receiveUnshielded(default<Bytes<32>>, disclose(amount));
totalDeposited = disclose((totalDeposited + amount) as Uint<128>);
balance = disclose((balance + amount) as Uint<128>);
}
export circuit withdraw(amount: Uint<128>, recipient: UserAddress): [] {
assert(deriveKey(ownerKey()) == owner, "Only owner can withdraw");
assert(balance >= amount, "Insufficient balance");
sendUnshielded(
default<Bytes<32>>,
disclose(amount),
right<ContractAddress, UserAddress>(disclose(recipient))
);
totalWithdrawn = disclose((totalWithdrawn + amount) as Uint<128>);
balance = disclose((balance - amount) as Uint<128>);
}
pure circuit deriveKey(sk: Bytes<32>): Bytes<32> {
return persistentHash<Vector<2, Bytes<32>>>([pad(32, "payment:owner:v1"), sk]);
}
Compile: cd contract && npm run compact → output lands in contract/src/managed/payment/
Provider Setup (Critical — Read Before Writing Any Code)
Session Type
export type ConnectedSession = {
api: any;
config: any;
providers: {
privateStateProvider: ReturnType<typeof createPrivateStateProvider>;
publicDataProvider: ReturnType<typeof createPatchedPublicDataProvider>;
zkConfigProvider: FetchZkConfigProvider<any>;
proofProvider: { proveTx: (unprovenTx: any) => Promise<any> };
walletProvider: WalletProvider;
midnightProvider: MidnightProvider;
};
unshieldedAddress: string;
coinPublicKeyBytes: Uint8Array;
};
createConnectedSession
export async function createConnectedSession(api: any, zkAssetBasePath: string): Promise<ConnectedSession> {
const [config, unshieldedAddress, shieldedAddress] = await Promise.all([
api.getConfiguration(),
api.getUnshieldedAddress(),
api.getShieldedAddresses(),
]);
setNetworkId(config.networkId);
const zkConfigProvider = new FetchZkConfigProvider(
new URL(zkAssetBasePath, window.location.origin).toString(),
window.fetch.bind(window),
);
const provingProvider = await api.getProvingProvider(zkConfigProvider);
const proofProvider = {
async proveTx(unprovenTx: any) {
const { CostModel } = await import('@midnight-ntwrk/ledger-v8');
return unprovenTx.prove(provingProvider, CostModel.initialCostModel());
},
};
const walletProvider: WalletProvider = {
getCoinPublicKey: () => shieldedAddress.shieldedCoinPublicKey,
getEncryptionPublicKey: () => shieldedAddress.shieldedEncryptionPublicKey,
balanceTx: async (tx: any) => {
const txHex = toHex(tx.serialize());
const balanced = await api.balanceUnsealedTransaction(txHex);
if (!balanced?.tx) throw new Error('balanceUnsealedTransaction returned invalid result');
const { Transaction } = await import('@midnight-ntwrk/ledger-v8');
return Transaction.deserialize('signature', 'proof', 'binding', fromHex(balanced.tx));
},
};
const midnightProvider: MidnightProvider = {
submitTx: async (tx: any) => {
const txHex = toHex(tx.serialize());
const result = await api.submitTransaction(txHex);
if (typeof result === 'string' && result) return result;
if (result?.transactionId) return result.transactionId;
if (result?.id) return result.id;
return txHex.slice(0, 64);
},
};
return {
api, config,
providers: {
privateStateProvider: createPrivateStateProvider(),
publicDataProvider: createPatchedPublicDataProvider(config.indexerUri, config.indexerWsUri),
zkConfigProvider,
proofProvider,
walletProvider,
midnightProvider,
},
unshieldedAddress: unshieldedAddress.unshieldedAddress,
coinPublicKeyBytes: coinPublicKeyToBytes(shieldedAddress.shieldedCoinPublicKey),
};
}
coinPublicKeyToBytes (required — format varies by wallet version)
function coinPublicKeyToBytes(pk: unknown): Uint8Array {
if (pk instanceof Uint8Array) return pk.length === 32 ? pk : pk.slice(0, 32);
if (typeof pk === 'string') {
const hex = pk.startsWith('0x') ? pk.slice(2) : pk;
if (hex.length === 64 && /^[0-9a-fA-F]+$/.test(hex)) return fromHex(hex);
console.warn('coinPublicKey not hex, using fallback');
return new Uint8Array(32);
}
if (Array.isArray(pk)) return new Uint8Array(pk.length >= 32 ? pk.slice(0, 32) : [...pk, ...new Uint8Array(32 - pk.length)]);
if (pk && typeof pk === 'object' && 'bytes' in (pk as any)) return coinPublicKeyToBytes((pk as any).bytes);
return new Uint8Array(32);
}
Patched Public Data Provider
function createPatchedPublicDataProvider(queryUrl: string, subscriptionUrl: string) {
const base = indexerPublicDataProvider(queryUrl, subscriptionUrl);
return {
...base,
async queryContractState(contractAddress: string, config?: any) {
if (config) return base.queryContractState(contractAddress, config);
const res = await fetch(queryUrl, {
method: 'POST',
headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json' },
body: JSON.stringify({
query: `query LATEST_CONTRACT_STATE($address: HexEncoded!) {
contractAction(address: $address) { state }
}`,
variables: { address: contractAddress },
}),
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Indexer HTTP error: ${res.status}`);
const payload = await res.json();
if (payload.errors?.length) throw new Error(payload.errors.map((e: any) => e.message).join('; '));
const action = payload.data?.contractAction ?? null;
return action ? ContractState.deserialize(fromHex(action.state)) : null;
},
};
}
Private State Provider (In-Memory)
function createPrivateStateProvider() {
let scope = '';
const stateStore = new Map<string, unknown>();
const signingKeyStore = new Map<string, unknown>();
const key = (id: string) => `${scope}:${id}`;
return {
setContractAddress(address: string) { scope = address; },
async set(id: string, state: unknown) { stateStore.set(key(id), state); },
async get(id: string) { return stateStore.get(key(id)) ?? null; },
async remove(id: string) { stateStore.delete(key(id)); },
async clear() { stateStore.clear(); },
async setSigningKey(addr: string, k: unknown) { signingKeyStore.set(addr, k); },
async getSigningKey(addr: string) { return signingKeyStore.get(addr) ?? null; },
async removeSigningKey(addr: string) { signingKeyStore.delete(addr); },
async clearSigningKeys() { signingKeyStore.clear(); },
async exportPrivateStates(): Promise<never> { throw new Error('Not implemented.'); },
async importPrivateStates(): Promise<never> { throw new Error('Not implemented.'); },
async exportSigningKeys(): Promise<never> { throw new Error('Not implemented.'); },
async importSigningKeys(): Promise<never> { throw new Error('Not implemented.'); },
};
}
Deploy & Circuit Calls
Deploy (use low-level API — high-level hangs on preprod)
export async function deployPayment(session: ConnectedSession, ownerKey: Uint8Array): Promise<string> {
const compiledContract = makeCompiledContract();
const initialPrivateState = { ownerSecretKey: ownerKey };
const deployTxData = await (createUnprovenDeployTx as any)(
{ zkConfigProvider: session.providers.zkConfigProvider, walletProvider: session.providers.walletProvider },
{ compiledContract, args: [], privateStateId: PRIVATE_STATE_ID, initialPrivateState, signingKey: sampleSigningKey() },
);
const contractAddress = deployTxData.public.contractAddress;
await (submitTxAsync as any)(session.providers, { unprovenTx: deployTxData.private.unprovenTx });
await session.providers.privateStateProvider.setContractAddress(contractAddress);
await session.providers.privateStateProvider.set(PRIVATE_STATE_ID, initialPrivateState);
await session.providers.privateStateProvider.setSigningKey(contractAddress, deployTxData.private.signingKey);
return contractAddress;
}
Deposit / Withdraw
export async function depositPayment(session: ConnectedSession, contractAddress: string, amount: bigint) {
await (submitCallTxAsync as any)(session.providers, {
compiledContract: makeCompiledContract(),
contractAddress,
circuitId: 'deposit',
args: [amount],
privateStateId: PRIVATE_STATE_ID,
});
}
export async function withdrawPayment(session: ConnectedSession, contractAddress: string, amount: bigint, recipientBytes: Uint8Array) {
await (submitCallTxAsync as any)(session.providers, {
compiledContract: makeCompiledContract(),
contractAddress,
circuitId: 'withdraw',
args: [amount, { bytes: recipientBytes }],
privateStateId: PRIVATE_STATE_ID,
});
}
Compiled Contract Builder
function makeCompiledContract() {
const witnesses = {
ownerKey: (context: any) => [context.privateState, context.privateState.ownerSecretKey],
};
return CompiledContract.make('payment', Payment.Contract).pipe(
CompiledContract.withWitnesses(witnesses),
CompiledContract.withCompiledFileAssets(ZK_ASSET_PATH),
) as any;
}
Indexer & State Polling
export async function pollForState(
queryUrl: string,
contractAddress: string,
onProgress?: (attempt: number) => void,
maxAttempts = 120,
intervalMs = 2000,
): Promise<string> {
for (let i = 0; i < maxAttempts; i++) {
onProgress?.(i + 1);
const state = await fetchContractState(queryUrl, contractAddress);
if (state) return state;
await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, intervalMs));
}
throw new Error(`State not found after ${maxAttempts * intervalMs / 1000}s`);
}
export function decodePaymentState(stateHex: string) {
const contractState = ContractState.deserialize(fromHex(stateHex));
const ledger = Payment.ledger(contractState.data);
return {
balance: ledger.balance as unknown as bigint,
totalDeposited: ledger.totalDeposited as unknown as bigint,
totalWithdrawn: ledger.totalWithdrawn as unknown as bigint,
};
}
Next.js Configuration
WebSocket shim (lib/isomorphic-ws-fix.mjs)
export default globalThis.WebSocket;
export const WebSocket = globalThis.WebSocket;
next.config.mjs
import path from "node:path";
import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
import { createRequire } from "node:module";
const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
export default {
webpack: (config, { isServer }) => {
if (!isServer) {
config.resolve.fallback = { ...config.resolve.fallback, fs: false, net: false, tls: false, child_process: false };
config.resolve.alias = { ...config.resolve.alias, "isomorphic-ws": require.resolve("./lib/isomorphic-ws-fix.mjs") };
}
config.experiments = { ...config.experiments, asyncWebAssembly: true, topLevelAwait: true };
return config;
},
};
package.json scripts — must use --webpack
{ "dev": "next dev --webpack", "build": "next build --webpack" }
Token Units
| Unit | Conversion |
|---|
| 1 NIGHT | 1,000,000 Stars |
| 1 Star | 1 base unit (used in all transactions) |
Always use BigInt — Stars overflow JS number at realistic balances.
Known Issues & Fixes
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|
Invalid character 'm' at position 0 | encodeUserAddress() got raw coin pk | Never use encodeUserAddress. Use coinPublicKeyToBytes() → pass { bytes: ... } to circuits |
| Deploy hangs 30–120s silently | deployContract() calls watchForTxData | Use createUnprovenDeployTx + submitTxAsync |
| Proof fails | createProofProvider() missing CostModel | Call unprovenTx.prove(provingProvider, CostModel.initialCostModel()) directly |
GraphQL offset: null error | Default queryContractState sends null offset | Use the patched public data provider (custom GraphQL query, omit offset) |
Cannot read properties of null on balance | balanceUnsealedTransaction() returned null | Guard: if (!balanced?.tx) throw new Error(...) |
| Tx ID not found after submit | submitTransaction() returns object not string | Normalize: string → .transactionId → .id → hex prefix fallback |
ledger() fails with wrong type | Passing contractState instead of .data | Always pass contractState.data (ChargedState) to Payment.ledger() |
| ZK asset 404 → cryptic SDK error | Assets not synced to public/ | Run npm run sync:assets before dev; verify URLs directly in browser |
| WASM / top-level-await errors | Missing webpack config or Turbopack | Add asyncWebAssembly: true, topLevelAwait: true; use --webpack flag |
| Wrong wallet detected | Both Lace and 1AM present | Check window.midnight['1am'] first; fall back to window.midnight?.mnLace |
ZK Asset Hosting
Run npm run sync:assets to copy contract/src/managed/payment/{keys,zkir}/ → public/zk/payment/.
Before debugging any provider/SDK error, open the asset URLs directly:
http://localhost:3000/zk/payment/keys/deposit.prover — a 404 here surfaces as a cryptic SDK error.
The FetchZkConfigProvider fetches from /zk/payment/ at runtime. Next.js serves public/ by default — no extra config needed.