Build Your First Privacy-Preserving App on Midnight Network

Martin Rivero — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 22:34:53 +0000

If you’ve been curious about privacy-first blockchain applications, the Midnight Network (MN) is an exciting playground. With MN, you can build DApps that use Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) to protect sensitive data while still interacting with the blockchain in a verifiable way. The magic? Selective disclosure—users can prove specific information without exposing everything.

Here’s a practical guide to get started.

Quick Start with create-mn-app

The create-mn-app CLI scaffolds Midnight Network applications with zero configuration. It comes preconfigured with TypeScript, hot reloading, and wallet generation. Dependencies for Node.js, Docker, and the Compact compiler are managed automatically.

bash
npx create-mn-app my-app
cd my-app
npm run setup

Available templates include:

Hello World: Message storage with ZKPs
Counter DApp: Increment/decrement with ZKPs

Other templates like Bulletin Board, DEX, and Midnight Kitties are in development.

Manual Setup

Prerequisites

Node.js >= 20.x (install via NVM)
Basic command-line knowledge
Code editor (e.g., Visual Studio Code)

bash
nvm install 20

Create Your Project

mkdir my-mn-app
cd my-mn-app
npm init -y
mkdir src contracts
touch contracts/hello-world.compact

Define the Smart Contract

Add the pragma version:

pragma language_version 0.17;

Create a ledger to store your data:

export ledger message: Opaque<"string">;

Define a circuit to update your ledger:

export circuit storeMessage(customMessage: Opaque<"string">): [] {
  message = disclose(customMessage);
}

disclose is required to intentionally make the data public. Compact enforces privacy by default.

Compile the Smart Contract

compact compile contracts/hello-world.compact contracts/managed/hello-world

This generates:

contract/: Compiled contract artifacts
keys/: Cryptographic keys for ZKPs
zkir/: Zero-Knowledge Intermediate Representation
compiler/: Intermediate files for building

With this setup, you can start building privacy-preserving DApps on Midnight Network. Users can interact securely while sensitive data stays private. The combination of Compact contracts + ZKPs ensures scalable, secure, and verifiable privacy on-chain.

Happy coding! 🛠️

🚀 Next Steps

In the upcoming parts of this series, we’ll dive into how to deploy an MN app and then explore how to interact with an MN app. Stay tuned to continue building privacy-preserving DApps on the Midnight Network! 🌌

Getting Started with Midnight: Full Privacy dApp Setup (Lace, Compact, Docker & More)

Martin Rivero — Sun, 30 Nov 2025 17:18:43 +0000

Midnight is a new blockchain for building privacy-focused decentralized applications using zero-knowledge (ZK) technology. This tutorial covers everything you need to set up your dev environment for Midnight and start building private dApps using the Compact smart contract language.

🧰 Prerequisites

Make sure you have:

Google Chrome browser
Terminal/CLI knowledge
Admin privileges to install Docker & Compact

🔐 Step 1: Install the Lace Midnight Wallet

Lace is the official wallet for the Midnight testnet.

Install from Chrome Web Store
Pin it to your toolbar
Click it → Create Wallet → Write down your seed phrase safely!

✅ Verification: Wallet dashboard shows 0 tDUST

💸 Step 2: Get Test Tokens (tDUST)

Copy your wallet address in Lace
Go to the Midnight Faucet

Paste your address and request tokens > Your address should start with mn_shield-addr_test...

✅ Verification: You now have tDUST in your wallet.

🛠️ Step 3: Install the Compact Compiler

Compact is Midnight’s smart contract language.

Install it using:

bash
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/midnightntwrk/compact/releases/download/compact-v0.2.0/compact-installer.sh | sh

Then run:

bash
compact --version
which compact

✅ Verification: You see the version and path printed.

🧪 Step 4: Run the Proof Server with Docker

Install Docker Desktop
Start the proof server:

docker run -p 6300:6300 midnightnetwork/proof-server -- 'midnight-proof-server --network testnet'

✅ Verification: Terminal shows logs and proof server runs at http://localhost:6300

💡 Tip: In Lace, go to: Settings → Midnight → Local to use this local server.

🧩 Step 5: Install the Compact VS Code Extension

Download from Releases
In VS Code: go to Extensions → Install from .vsix

✅ Verification: You see Compact Language Support enabled in VS Code.

🎉 You’re Ready!

With all tools installed, you’re now ready to:

Compile & deploy ZK smart contracts
Interact with dApps using your Lace wallet
Build private logic using Compact

📎 Want to try a real project?

Fork and deploy this one:
🔗 Midnight Kitties – GitHub fork

And you'll be able to mint your first NFT like this one:

🧠 If you found this helpful, follow for more ZK dev cont
You can find out more info: Midnight

DEV Community: Martin Rivero