Docker Local Environment

Knight Shield provides a docker-compose.yml at the project root that runs a complete Midnight Network stack for local development.

Services

midnight-node

image: midnightnetwork/midnight-node:v0.21.0
ports:
  - "9944:9944"

The Midnight blockchain node. Exposes WebSocket RPC on port 9944 for transaction submission, block queries, and state reads.

indexer

image: midnightnetwork/indexer:v4.0.0-rc.4
ports:
  - "8088:8088"

Block indexer providing a GraphQL API at http://localhost:8088/api/v1/graphql. The wallet SDK uses this for:

• Balance queries
• Transaction history
• Contract state lookups
• Sync operations

proof-server

image: midnightnetwork/proof-server:v7.0.0
ports:
  - "6300:6300"

ZK proof generation server. Every Compact contract call requires a zero-knowledge proof — the proof server handles the computationally intensive proof generation.

Commands

# Start all services
docker compose up -d

# Check health
docker compose ps

# View node logs
docker compose logs -f midnight-node

# View all logs
docker compose logs -f

# Stop services
docker compose down

# Stop and remove volumes
docker compose down -v

Port Summary

Service	Port	Protocol	Purpose
midnight-node	9944	WebSocket	Blockchain RPC
indexer	8088	HTTP	GraphQL API
proof-server	6300	HTTP	ZK proof generation
relay-server	8443	WebSocket	GhostCloak relay (run separately)

Network Configuration

The standalone network in @knight-shield/core maps to these local endpoints:

const NETWORKS = {
  standalone: {
    node: 'http://127.0.0.1:9944',
    indexer: 'http://127.0.0.1:8088/api/v1/graphql',
    proofServer: 'http://127.0.0.1:6300',
  },
  // ...
};

Resource Requirements

Service	CPU	RAM	Notes
midnight-node	2 cores	2 GB	Block production
indexer	1 core	1 GB	Depends on node being synced
proof-server	4 cores	4 GB	ZK proof generation is CPU-intensive

The proof server is the most resource-hungry component. Proof generation times depend on circuit complexity — simple transfers take seconds, complex contract calls may take longer.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Solution
Node not producing blocks	First start initialization	Wait 30-60 seconds for genesis
Indexer errors on startup	Node not ready	Restart indexer after node is synced
Proof timeout	Insufficient CPU/RAM	Allocate more resources to Docker
Port conflict	Another service on same port	Change port mapping in docker-compose.yml