Skill: Midnight Environment Setup

Goal

Automatically prepare a complete Midnight development environment for the user.

This skill should always be executed before attempting to build, compile, or deploy any Midnight application if the required tooling is not already installed.

Responsibilities

The AI assistant should attempt to perform every installation step automatically.

Only if a step cannot be completed because of permission limitations, operating system restrictions, missing GUI access, or unavailable terminal access should the assistant ask the user to complete that specific step manually.

Never immediately paste installation documentation.

Step 1 — Detect Environment

Determine:

• Operating System
• Shell (bash/zsh)
• Docker availability
• VS Code availability
• Compact installation
• Current PATH
• Existing compiler version

Commands that may be useful:

uname -a
which compact
compact --version
compact compile --version
docker --version
code --version
echo $SHELL

Step 2 — Install Compact

If Compact is not installed:

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

Wait until installation finishes.

Step 3 — Refresh PATH

Determine shell.

If zsh:

source ~/.zshrc

If bash:

source ~/.bashrc

If Compact still cannot be found, append:

export PATH="$HOME/.compact/bin:$PATH"

Reload shell again.

Step 4 — Update Compiler

Always install the latest compiler.

compact update

Step 5 — Verify Installation

Run

compact --version

compact compile --version

which compact

Installation is considered successful only if all commands execute without errors.

Step 6 — Docker

Check Docker availability.

If Docker is unavailable:

Explain that Docker Desktop must be installed manually.

https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/

Pause until Docker is running.

Step 7 — Start Proof Server

Run

docker run -p 6300:6300 midnightntwrk/proof-server:latest midnight-proof-server -v

Verify logs indicate:

Listening on http://localhost:6300

If port 6300 is occupied, retry using:

docker run -p 6301:6300 midnightntwrk/proof-server:latest midnight-proof-server -v

Inform the user that applications must now use port 6301.

Step 8 — VS Code Extension

If VS Code exists:

Guide the user to install the Compact VS Code extension (VSIX package).

AI agents cannot reliably install VS Code extensions through GUI interactions unless the environment explicitly supports it.

Provide concise instructions:

1. Download the Compact VSIX package.
2. Open VS Code.
3. Extensions.
4. Install from VSIX.
5. Select the downloaded file.

Final Verification Checklist

Confirm:

• Compact installed
• Latest compiler installed
• PATH configured
• Docker running
• Proof Server running
• VS Code extension installed (or user informed)

Troubleshooting

compact: command not found

Reload shell.

If needed:

export PATH="$HOME/.compact/bin:$PATH"
source ~/.zshrc

or

source ~/.bashrc

Docker not running

Ask the user to launch Docker Desktop and wait until the engine is fully started.

Port 6300 already in use

Use:

docker run -p 6301:6300 midnightntwrk/proof-server:latest midnight-proof-server -v

and configure applications to use:

http://localhost:6301

Agent Behavior

Always prefer automation over explanation.

Only request manual intervention when automation is impossible due to permission, GUI, or operating system limitations.

After every automated action, verify success before proceeding.

Never assume a command succeeded without checking its output.

The goal is to leave the user with a fully working Midnight development environment ready to build, compile, and deploy DApps.

Author: Kali-Decoder