create-mn-app

Scaffold a Midnight Network DApp project. One command bootstraps a contract, a local devnet, and the SDK plumbing to deploy and call it. Public testnets are one flag away.

Requirements

Requirement	Version	Notes
Node.js	22+
Docker	Compose v2	Runs the local devnet and proof server
Compact compiler	0.31.0	Required for counter and bboard; the CLI offers to install it for you

Quick Start

npx create-mn-app@latest my-app
cd my-app
npm run setup

That's the whole getting-started flow. setup boots a local devnet in Docker, compiles the contract, and deploys it. No wallet extension, no faucet, no public-network credentials.

What you get

Bundled local devnet. The hello-world template ships a docker-compose.yml that runs node + indexer + proof-server. The dev preset pre-mints NIGHT to a genesis seed, so deploys work the second setup finishes — no faucet polling, no testnet flake.

Deploy to preview and preprod

npm run setup --network preview

npm run setup --network preprod

Networks

The bundled hello-world template runs against three networks. Local devnet is the default.

Network	Source	When to use
undeployed	Local devnet from docker-compose.yml	Default. Iterate fast, no funding, no extension needed.
preview	Public preview testnet (faucet)	Test against shared infra before a release.
preprod	Public preprod testnet (faucet)	Validate against the network closest to mainnet.

Switch network on a single command:

npm run setup -- --network preview

Or set the active network for the project, so subsequent commands don't need the flag:

npm run network preview     # active network is now preview
npm run setup               # uses preview
npm run cli                 # uses preview
npm run network             # prints current state

On first use of preview or preprod, the deploy script generates a wallet seed, prints the faucet URL, and polls the wallet balance until funds land. Seeds are stored per-network in .midnight-state.json (gitignored) — switch back later and your funded wallet is still there.

Additional Templates

Pick a template interactively, or pass --template:

npx create-mn-app@latest my-app                    # interactive picker
npx create-mn-app@latest my-app --template counter # skip the prompts
npx create-mn-app@latest my-app --list             # show every template

NOTE: Not all templates support the --network flag for switching networks like hello-world. Consult each template's README for more information.

Contract

Template	What it is
hello-world (default)	Bundled. Local devnet + message-storage contract. The fastest path to a working deploy.

Full DApp

Template	What it is
counter	Increment/decrement contract with ZK proofs. Cloned from example-counter.
bboard	Multi-user bulletin board demonstrating privacy patterns. Cloned from example-bboard.

The DApp templates clone an upstream example and configure it for the pinned compiler. They follow the upstream project's setup flow — see the cloned repo's README after scaffolding.

dex and midnight-kitties are listed as coming-soon in the picker.

CLI reference

npx create-mn-app@latest [project-directory] [options]

Option	Description
-t, --template <name>	hello-world, counter, bboard
--list	List all templates and exit
--from <owner/repo>	Scaffold from any GitHub repository
-y, --yes	Accept defaults; non-interactive
--dry-run	Print actions without writing files
--use-npm / --use-yarn / --use-pnpm / --use-bun	Force a package manager
--skip-install	Skip dependency install
--skip-git	Skip git init
--verbose	Show detailed output
-V, --version	Print version
-h, --help	Print help

CI mode is auto-detected (CI=true or GITHUB_ACTIONS=true) and skips prompts. -y does the same explicitly.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests welcome at github.com/midnightntwrk/create-mn-app.

Links

• Midnight Docs
• Discord
• Preview Faucet
• Preprod Faucet

License

Apache-2.0 © 2025 Midnight Foundation