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Quickstart

Get Knight Shield running locally in under 10 minutes.

Prerequisites​

  • Node.js v22+
  • pnpm v9+
  • compactc v0.29.0 (Midnight Compact compiler)
  • Docker and Docker Compose (for local Midnight network)
  • Xcode / Android Studio (for mobile development)

1. Clone and Install​

git clone https://github.com/knight-shield-wallet.git
cd knight-shield
pnpm install

2. Start Local Midnight Network​

docker compose up -d

This starts three services:

  • midnight-node on port 9944 — local Midnight node
  • indexer on port 8088 — block indexer
  • proof-server on port 6300 — ZK proof generation

Wait for all services to be healthy:

docker compose ps

3. Compile Smart Contracts​

pnpm compile:contracts

This runs compactc on all 5 .compact files in packages/contracts/ and outputs JS bindings, ZK proving keys, and ZKIR to build/.

4. Build All Packages​

pnpm build

Turbo builds core, relay-server, and docs in dependency order.

5. Start the Relay Server​

cd packages/relay-server
node dist/server.js

The relay server starts on port 8443 (default) and proxies WebSocket connections to the local Midnight node.

6. Run the Mobile App​

cd packages/mobile

# iOS
npx react-native run-ios

# Android
npx react-native run-android

The app connects to the relay server and Midnight node automatically when configured for the standalone network.

7. Verify Everything Works​

  1. The mobile app should show the Dashboard screen with a balance of 0
  2. Navigate to GhostCloak and enable it — the relay session should connect
  3. Navigate to GhostShard and create shards — you should see 5 shard entries
  4. Check the relay server logs for session activity

Next Steps​