# Complete Hello World Guide: From Setup to Deployed Contract (with Troubleshooting)

**URL:** <https://forum.midnight.network/t/complete-hello-world-guide-from-setup-to-deployed-contract-with-troubleshooting/1098>\
**Category:** Technical Questions\
**Created:** [March 25, 2026, 3:42pm UTC](https://forum.midnight.network/t/complete-hello-world-guide-from-setup-to-deployed-contract-with-troubleshooting/1098 "2026-03-25T15:42:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![8pro](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/forum.midnight.network/8pro/32/446_2.png) [@8pro](https://forum.midnight.network/u/8pro)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 3:42pm UTC](https://forum.midnight.network/t/complete-hello-world-guide-from-setup-to-deployed-contract-with-troubleshooting/1098/1 "2026-03-25T15:42:38Z")

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Hey Midnight community,

I put together a comprehensive step-by-step guide for developers who want to deploy their first Compact contract on Midnight Preprod. I struggled to find a single resource that covered everything end-to-end, so I wrote one.

* * *

**What the guide covers (15 sections)**

1. What Midnight is and how it differs from other chains

2. Prerequisites (Node.js, Docker, Compact compiler)

3. Full project setup, package.json, tsconfig.json, docker-compose.yml

4. Writing a Hello World contract in Compact (line-by-line explanation)

5. Compiling and what the compiler generates

6. Setting up and monitoring the proof server

7. Understanding the 3-wallet model (Shielded / Unshielded / Dust)

8. Writing the full deploy.ts script (section by section)

9. The full deployment walkthrough

10. Writing a CLI to interact with the deployed contract

11. What actually happens under the hood during a circuit call

12. Troubleshooting, every error I hit, with fixes

* * *

**SDK versions used**

- `@midnight-ntwrk/ledger-v8: 8.0.3`

- `@midnight-ntwrk/midnight-js-contracts: 4.0.1`

- `@midnight-ntwrk/wallet-sdk-facade: 3.0.0`

- `midnightntwrk/proof-server:8.0.3` (Docker)

- Node.js v20+, TypeScript 5.x

* * *

**Gotchas I documented so you don’t have to**

**1. Proof server version must match ledger-v8 version**

Using `proof-server:7.0.0` with `ledger-v8:8.0.3` causes a transport error during proof generation. The server accepts the connection, starts processing, then silently drops it. The fix: make sure the Docker image tag matches your `ledger-v8` version exactly.

**2. wallet.start() must be called before waiting for sync**

`WalletFacade.init()` creates the wallet but does not begin syncing. You must call `await wallet.start(shieldedSecretKeys, dustSecretKey)` first. Without it, `wallet.state()` never emits and your script hangs forever.

**3. levelPrivateStateProvider password validation**

The storage password requires at least 3 of 4 character classes. A raw hex seed (lowercase + digits = 2 classes) fails validation. Fix: prefix with `Aa1!` to satisfy the requirement deterministically.

**4. First proof server startup requires patience**

The container downloads ~30MB of BLS ZK parameters from S3 on first run. Use a named Docker volume to cache them. Watch for the log line `starting service: "actix-web-service-0.0.0.0:6300"` before attempting deployment.

Full article: [https://eightblock.dev/articles/building-and-deploying-your-first-smart-contract-on-midnight-network](https://eightblock.dev/articles/building-and-deploying-your-first-smart-contract-on-midnight-network)

Hope this helps developers getting started. Happy to answer any questions, especially around the wallet model and provider setup, which I found the most confusing parts.