Midnight Network Locker DApp

A locker dApp holds unshielded NIGHT in a Compact contract until unlockTime (Unix seconds, Uint<64>). No one — including the deployer — can withdraw early. After the deadline, only the beneficiary (proven via witness) can call release and send tokens to a recipient address.

Runnable template: Copy templates/locker-dapp/ for a complete Next.js project (contract + UI). Run npm install && npm run compact && npm run dev after installing the 1AM wallet.

What this skill produces:

• contract/ — Compact locker vault + TypeScript witnesses + compile scripts
• app/locker/ — Next.js client UI (connect, deploy, lock, release, status)
• lib/midnight.ts — wallet session + patched indexer provider (copy from references/midnight-session.md or templates/locker-dapp/lib/midnight.ts)
• lib/locker.ts — deploy, lockTokens, release, ledger decode
• public/zk/locker/ — ZK proving assets synced from contract build

Shared references (canonical provider + troubleshooting — do not duplicate in prompts):

• references/midnight-session.md — createConnectedSession, indexer patch, deploy/call helpers
• references/gotchas.md — preprod deploy hangs, GraphQL offset: null, ZK asset paths
• references/versions.json — pinned @midnight-ntwrk/* versions

Primary references:

• example-payment-dapp/ — provider wiring, low-level deploy/call, indexer patch
• 1am-wallet/ — 1AM browser extension, dust-free flow
• compact/ — blockTimeGte / blockTimeLt, disclose(), ledger ADTs
• token-transfers/ — unshielded NIGHT units (Stars), UserAddress recipient pattern
• indexer/ — poll contract state after transactions

Key architecture notes:

• Use blockTimeGte(unlockTime) — never compare raw block timestamps on ledger (privacy + API design)
• Always use Uint<64> for Unix timestamps — Uint<16> cannot hold current epoch values
• Use createUnprovenDeployTx + submitTxAsync — not deployContract() (hangs on preprod)
• Wrap indexerPublicDataProvider with the patched queryContractState (GraphQL offset: null bug)
• Token amounts are in Stars (1 NIGHT = 1000000 Stars); use BigInt everywhere
• Beneficiary public key bytes are stored on-chain at lock time; beneficiaryKey witness proves release authority

Workflow

When helping the user, follow this sequence:

1. Contract — locker.compact compile + witnesses
2. Providers — createConnectedSession (from references/midnight-session.md)
3. Deploy — low-level deploy, persist private state + contract address
4. Lock — lockTokens(amount, releaseTime, beneficiaryPkBytes)
5. Poll indexer — read balance, unlockTime, lockActive from ledger
6. Release — after blockTimeGte(unlockTime), beneficiary calls release(recipient)
7. UI — show countdown, disable release until unlock time (UX only — contract enforces)

1) Project Structure

locker-dapp/
├── package.json
├── next.config.mjs
├── lib/
│   ├── isomorphic-ws-fix.mjs
│   ├── midnight.ts                 # session, patched provider, hex helpers
│   └── locker.ts                   # deploy, lock, release, decode state
├── app/
│   ├── layout.tsx
│   └── locker/
│       └── LockerClient.tsx        # all wallet + contract UI (client component)
├── contract/
│   ├── package.json
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── locker.compact
│   │   ├── witnesses.ts
│   │   ├── index.ts                # barrel → managed/locker
│   │   └── managed/locker/         # compiler output (gitignored)
│   └── tsconfig.json
└── public/zk/locker/               # synced keys + zkir (gitignored in dev, committed for deploy)

2) Prerequisites

node --version   # 20+ for Next.js; 22+ if adding vitest contract tests
docker --version # optional local stack

# Compact compiler
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf \
  https://github.com/midnightntwrk/compact/releases/latest/download/compact-installer.sh | sh
source $HOME/.local/bin/env

Browser: 1AM wallet extension on preprod (or Lace fallback).

3) Root package.json

{
  "name": "locker-dapp",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "private": true,
  "type": "module",
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "next dev --webpack",
    "build": "npm run sync:assets && next build --webpack",
    "compact": "npm run compact --prefix contract",
    "sync:assets": "node scripts/sync-zk-assets.mjs",
    "postinstall": "npm install --prefix contract"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@midnight-ntwrk/compact-runtime": "0.16.0",
    "@midnight-ntwrk/ledger-v8": "8.0.3",
    "@midnight-ntwrk/midnight-js-contracts": "4.0.4",
    "@midnight-ntwrk/midnight-js-fetch-zk-config-provider": "4.0.4",
    "@midnight-ntwrk/midnight-js-indexer-public-data-provider": "4.0.4",
    "@midnight-ntwrk/midnight-js-network-id": "4.0.4",
    "@midnight-ntwrk/midnight-js-types": "4.0.4",
    "@midnight-ntwrk/wallet-sdk-address-format": "3.1.0",
    "next": "^15.0.0",
    "react": "^19.0.0",
    "react-dom": "^19.0.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/node": "^22.0.0",
    "@types/react": "^19.0.0",
    "@types/react-dom": "^19.0.0",
    "typescript": "^5.7.0"
  }
}

4) contract/package.json

{
  "name": "@locker/contract",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "private": true,
  "type": "module",
  "scripts": {
    "compact": "compact compile src/locker.compact src/managed/locker"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@midnight-ntwrk/compact-runtime": "0.16.0"
  }
}

Compile:

npm run compact
# → contract/src/managed/locker/{contract,keys,zkir}/
npm run sync:assets
# → public/zk/locker/

5) contract/src/locker.compact

Single active lock per contract instance (simple vault). Deploy multiple contract addresses for parallel locks, or extend with Map<Bytes<32>, LockRecord> (see §18).

pragma language_version >= 0.23;
import CompactStandardLibrary;

export ledger balance: Uint<128>;
export ledger unlockTime: Uint<64>;
export ledger beneficiary: Bytes<32>;
export ledger lockActive: Boolean;
export ledger totalLocked: Uint<128>;
export ledger totalReleased: Uint<128>;

witness beneficiaryKey(): Bytes<32>;

constructor() {
  balance = 0;
  unlockTime = 0;
  beneficiary = default<Bytes<32>>;
  lockActive = false;
  totalLocked = 0;
  totalReleased = 0;
}

// Deposit unshielded NIGHT and schedule release for beneficiaryPk at releaseTime (Unix seconds).
export circuit lockTokens(
  amount: Uint<128>,
  releaseTime: Uint<64>,
  beneficiaryPk: Bytes<32>
): [] {
  assert(!disclose(lockActive), "Vault already has an active lock");
  assert(disclose(amount) > 0, "Amount must be positive");
  receiveUnshielded(default<Bytes<32>>, disclose(amount));
  beneficiary = disclose(beneficiaryPk);
  unlockTime = disclose(releaseTime);
  balance = disclose(amount);
  lockActive = disclose(true);
  totalLocked = disclose((totalLocked + amount) as Uint<128>);
}

// Beneficiary releases locked tokens after unlockTime to recipient (unshielded UserAddress).
export circuit release(recipient: UserAddress): [] {
  assert(disclose(lockActive), "No active lock");
  assert(blockTimeGte(disclose(unlockTime)), "Lock period not finished");
  assert(deriveKey(beneficiaryKey()) == beneficiary, "Only beneficiary can release");
  const amount = disclose(balance);
  assert(amount > 0, "Nothing to release");
  sendUnshielded(
    default<Bytes<32>>,
    amount,
    right<ContractAddress, UserAddress>(disclose(recipient))
  );
  totalReleased = disclose((totalReleased + amount) as Uint<128>);
  balance = 0;
  lockActive = false;
}

pure circuit deriveKey(sk: Bytes<32>): Bytes<32> {
  return persistentHash<Vector<2, Bytes<32>>>([pad(32, "locker:beneficiary:v1"), sk]);
}

Time API: blockTimeGte(t) returns true when blocktime >= t. Use Uint<64> Unix seconds. Do not store raw blocktime on ledger.

6) contract/src/witnesses.ts

import type { WitnessContext } from '@midnight-ntwrk/compact-runtime';

export type LockerPrivateState = {
  beneficiarySecretKey: Uint8Array;
};

export const witnesses = {
  beneficiaryKey: (context: WitnessContext<LockerPrivateState>) =>
    [context.privateState, context.privateState.beneficiarySecretKey] as const,
};

The beneficiary's Zswap secret seed (32 bytes) must live in private state. When locking for yourself, initialize private state with your shielded coin secret. When locking for someone else, they must deploy their own locker or use a multi-party flow — the witness must match the on-chain beneficiary field at release.

7) contract/src/index.ts

import { CompiledContract } from '@midnight-ntwrk/compact-runtime';
import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
import path from 'node:path';
import { witnesses } from './witnesses.js';

export {
  Contract,
  ledger,
  pureCircuits,
  type Ledger,
} from './managed/locker/contract/index.js';
import { Contract } from './managed/locker/contract/index.js';

const currentDir = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
export const zkConfigPath = path.resolve(currentDir, 'managed', 'locker');

export const CompiledLockerContract = CompiledContract.make('locker', Contract).pipe(
  CompiledContract.withWitnesses(witnesses),
  CompiledContract.withCompiledFileAssets(zkConfigPath),
);

8) Provider Setup

Copy the full provider block from example-payment-dapp/SKILL.md § "Provider Setup":

• ConnectedSession type
• createConnectedSession (ZK path → /zk/locker/)
• coinPublicKeyToBytes
• createPatchedPublicDataProvider
• createPrivateStateProvider

Change only:

• ZKASSETPATH / FetchZkConfigProvider base → /zk/locker
• setNetworkId(config.networkId) after api.getConfiguration()

Wallet detection (1AM first, Lace fallback):

const wallet =
  (window as any).midnight?.['1am'] ??
  Object.values((window as any).midnight ?? {})[0];

Prefer enumerating Object.values(window.midnight) over hardcoded Lace keys — see react-wallet-connector/.

9) lib/locker.ts

import { createUnprovenDeployTx, submitCallTxAsync } from '@midnight-ntwrk/midnight-js-contracts';
import { ContractState, sampleSigningKey } from '@midnight-ntwrk/compact-runtime';
import { CompiledLockerContract, Contract, ledger } from '../contract/src/index.js';
import type { ConnectedSession } from './midnight.js';
import { fromHex, pollForState } from './midnight.js';

const PRIVATE_STATE_ID = 'LockerPrivateState';
const ZK_ASSET_PATH = '/zk/locker';

function makeCompiledContract() {
  return CompiledLockerContract as any;
}

export async function deployLocker(
  session: ConnectedSession,
  beneficiarySecretKey: Uint8Array,
): Promise<string> {
  const initialPrivateState = { beneficiarySecretKey };

  const deployTxData = await (createUnprovenDeployTx as any)(
    {
      zkConfigProvider: session.providers.zkConfigProvider,
      walletProvider: session.providers.walletProvider,
    },
    {
      compiledContract: makeCompiledContract(),
      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;
}

export async function lockTokens(
  session: ConnectedSession,
  contractAddress: string,
  amount: bigint,
  releaseTimeUnix: bigint,
  beneficiaryPkBytes: Uint8Array,
) {
  await (submitCallTxAsync as any)(session.providers, {
    compiledContract: makeCompiledContract(),
    contractAddress,
    circuitId: 'lockTokens',
    args: [amount, releaseTimeUnix, { bytes: beneficiaryPkBytes }],
    privateStateId: PRIVATE_STATE_ID,
  });
}

export async function releaseTokens(
  session: ConnectedSession,
  contractAddress: string,
  recipientBytes: Uint8Array,
) {
  await (submitCallTxAsync as any)(session.providers, {
    compiledContract: makeCompiledContract(),
    contractAddress,
    circuitId: 'release',
    args: [{ bytes: recipientBytes }],
    privateStateId: PRIVATE_STATE_ID,
  });
}

export function decodeLockerState(stateHex: string) {
  const contractState = ContractState.deserialize(fromHex(stateHex));
  const l = ledger(contractState.data);
  return {
    balance: l.balance as unknown as bigint,
    unlockTime: l.unlockTime as unknown as bigint,
    beneficiary: l.beneficiary as unknown as Uint8Array,
    lockActive: l.lockActive as unknown as boolean,
    totalLocked: l.totalLocked as unknown as bigint,
    totalReleased: l.totalReleased as unknown as bigint,
  };
}

export async function fetchLockerState(queryUrl: string, contractAddress: string) {
  const hex = await pollForState(queryUrl, contractAddress);
  return decodeLockerState(hex);
}

10) Frontend — app/locker/LockerClient.tsx

Client component pattern (same as payment dapp). Core UI states:

'use client';

import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react';
import {
  deployLocker,
  fetchLockerState,
  lockTokens,
  releaseTokens,
} from '@/lib/locker';

const STARS_PER_NIGHT = 1_000_000n;

export default function LockerClient() {
  const [session, setSession] = useState<ConnectedSession | null>(null);
  const [contractAddress, setContractAddress] = useState<string | null>(null);
  const [ledger, setLedger] = useState<LockerLedgerView | null>(null);
  const [amountNight, setAmountNight] = useState('1');
  const [unlockAt, setUnlockAt] = useState(''); // datetime-local input
  const [busy, setBusy] = useState(false);
  const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);

  const nowUnix = BigInt(Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000));
  const canRelease = ledger?.lockActive && ledger.unlockTime <= nowUnix;

  const refresh = useCallback(async () => {
    if (!session || !contractAddress) return;
    const state = await fetchLockerState(session.config.indexerUri, contractAddress);
    setLedger(state);
  }, [session, contractAddress]);

  useEffect(() => { void refresh(); }, [refresh]);

  async function onConnect() {
    setError(null);
    const wallet =
      (window as any).midnight?.['1am'] ??
      Object.values((window as any).midnight ?? {})[0];
    if (!wallet) throw new Error('Install a Midnight wallet extension');
    const api = await wallet.connect('preprod');
    const { createConnectedSession } = await import('@/lib/midnight');
    setSession(await createConnectedSession(api, '/zk/locker'));
  }

  async function onDeploy() {
    if (!session) return;
    setBusy(true);
    setError(null);
    try {
      const beneficiarySecretKey = session.coinPublicKeyBytes; // lock to self
      const addr = await deployLocker(session, beneficiarySecretKey);
      setContractAddress(addr);
      await refresh();
    } catch (e) {
      setError(String(e));
    } finally {
      setBusy(false);
    }
  }

  async function onLock() {
    if (!session || !contractAddress) return;
    setBusy(true);
    setError(null);
    try {
      const amount = BigInt(amountNight) * STARS_PER_NIGHT;
      const releaseTime = BigInt(Math.floor(new Date(unlockAt).getTime() / 1000));
      await lockTokens(
        session,
        contractAddress,
        amount,
        releaseTime,
        session.coinPublicKeyBytes,
      );
      await refresh();
    } catch (e) {
      setError(String(e));
    } finally {
      setBusy(false);
    }
  }

  async function onRelease() {
    if (!session || !contractAddress) return;
    setBusy(true);
    setError(null);
    try {
      const recipientBytes = unshieldedAddressToBytes(session.unshieldedAddress);
      await releaseTokens(session, contractAddress, recipientBytes);
      await refresh();
    } catch (e) {
      setError(String(e));
    } finally {
      setBusy(false);
    }
  }

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Token Locker</h1>
      {!session ? (
        <button type="button" onClick={onConnect} disabled={busy}>Connect Wallet</button>
      ) : (
        <>
          <p>Connected: {session.unshieldedAddress}</p>
          {!contractAddress ? (
            <button type="button" onClick={onDeploy} disabled={busy}>Deploy Locker</button>
          ) : (
            <>
              <p>Contract: {contractAddress}</p>
              {ledger?.lockActive ? (
                <>
                  <p>Locked: {formatStars(ledger.balance)} Stars</p>
                  <p>Unlocks: {new Date(Number(ledger.unlockTime) * 1000).toLocaleString()}</p>
                  <button type="button" onClick={onRelease} disabled={busy || !canRelease}>
                    Release Tokens
                  </button>
                </>
              ) : (
                <>
                  <label>
                    Amount (NIGHT)
                    <input value={amountNight} onChange={(e) => setAmountNight(e.target.value)} />
                  </label>
                  <label>
                    Unlock at
                    <input type="datetime-local" value={unlockAt} onChange={(e) => setUnlockAt(e.target.value)} />
                  </label>
                  <button type="button" onClick={onLock} disabled={busy}>Lock Tokens</button>
                </>
              )}
            </>
          )}
        </>
      )}
      {error ? <p role="alert">{error}</p> : null}
    </div>
  );
}

function formatStars(n: bigint) {
  return n.toString();
}

// Implement: unshieldedAddressToBytes — decode mn_addr_* to 32-byte recipient for circuits
// Never use encodeUserAddress with raw coin pk; use bytes helper from 1am-wallet skill

Add styling (Tailwind/CSS) as needed — logic above is intentionally unstyled like react-wallet-connector/.

11) ZK Asset Sync — scripts/sync-zk-assets.mjs

import { cpSync, mkdirSync, rmSync } from 'node:fs';
import { join, dirname } from 'node:path';
import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';

const root = join(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), '..');
const src = join(root, 'contract/src/managed/locker');
const dest = join(root, 'public/zk/locker');

rmSync(dest, { recursive: true, force: true });
mkdirSync(dest, { recursive: true });
for (const dir of ['keys', 'zkir']) {
  cpSync(join(src, dir), join(dest, dir), { recursive: true });
}

Verify before debugging SDK errors: http://localhost:3000/zk/locker/keys/lockTokens.prover must return 200.

12) Next.js Config

Same as example-payment-dapp/SKILL.md § Next.js:

• lib/isomorphic-ws-fix.mjs WebSocket shim
• next.config.mjs with asyncWebAssembly, topLevelAwait, isomorphic-ws alias
• Scripts must use next dev --webpack and next build --webpack

13) End-to-End Flow

1. npm install && npm run compact && npm run sync:assets
2. npm run dev
3. Connect 1AM wallet (preprod, funded with tNIGHT)
4. Deploy locker contract
5. Lock 1 NIGHT until chosen datetime
6. UI shows locked balance + unlock time (poll indexer every 2s after tx)
7. Wait until unlock (or advance clock on local undeployed only)
8. Beneficiary clicks Release → tokens sent to unshielded address

14) Troubleshooting

15) Agent Checklist

When generating this dApp for a user:

• Create locker.compact with lockTokens + release + blockTimeGte
• Compile contract; sync ZK assets to public/zk/locker/
• Wire createConnectedSession with patched indexer (from payment dapp)
• Use low-level deploy + submitCallTxAsync for lock/release
• Store beneficiarySecretKey in private state; pass coinPublicKeyBytes at lock
• Decode ledger with ledger(contractState.data) — not raw ContractState
• Use BigInt for amounts and Unix timestamps
• Next.js --webpack flag for WASM
• Document: 1 NIGHT = 1000000 Stars

16) Use Case Mapping

17) Reading Lock Status (Indexer)

// After lockTokens tx — poll until balance > 0
const state = await fetchLockerState(indexerUrl, contractAddress);
console.log({
  locked: state.lockActive,
  amount: state.balance,
  unlockAt: new Date(Number(state.unlockTime) * 1000).toISOString(),
});

18) Extensions

Multi-lock (Map)

Replace single lockActive cell with:

struct LockRecord {
  amount: Uint<128>,
  unlockTime: Uint<64>,
  beneficiary: Bytes<32>,
  active: Boolean,
}

export ledger locks: Map<Bytes<32>, LockRecord>;
export ledger nextLockId: Counter;

Add lockId parameter to release; increment counter on each lockTokens.

Linear vesting

Deploy multiple locker contracts with staggered unlockTime values, or add a vesting.compact with List<VestTranche> and separate claimTranche(index) circuit using blockTimeGte(tranche.unlockTime).

React-only wallet shell

If the user only needs connect UI first, scaffold with react-wallet-connector/ then add provider wiring from references/midnight-session.md.

20) Troubleshooting

See references/gotchas.md for the full table. Common locker-specific issues:

21) Related Skills