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How to apply for deployment authorization

· 3 min read
Lauren Lee
Lauren Lee
Director of Developer Relations

Deployment on the Midnight network during this phase is open to reviewed applications. This guide explains how to assess your DApp and submit it for consideration.

Step 1: Read the rubric​

Start with the Contract Deployment Rubric. It defines the three risk categories your DApp will be evaluated against:

  • Privacy-at-risk: If a ZK fault surfaces, what does a user lose?
  • Value-at-risk: If there is an exploit, how much can users lose and is that loss recoverable?
  • State-space-at-risk: How much permanent ledger state does your contract generate, and can that growth be attacked?

Each category is scored 1 to 3. The score reflects what is actually at stake if something goes wrong, not how likely it is.

Step 2: Self-assess your contract​

Before submitting, score your DApp honestly across all three categories using the rubric's tier definitions.

If you score a 3 in any category, your application will not proceed until the underlying issue is resolved. A score of 3 is not a permanent rejection. It is a prompt to rethink your architecture. Drop into Discord #dev-chat or the developer forum and share your contract structure. The DevRel team and the Aliit community can help you understand what a lower-risk design looks like.

If you score 1 or 2 across all categories, you are ready to submit.

Step 3: Submit via GitHub​

Deployment authorization requests are submitted as Pull Requests to the Midnight Improvement Proposals repository.

To submit:

  1. Fork the repository
  2. In the deployments/ folder, create a new file named your-dapp-name.md
  3. Open a Pull Request against the main branch with the title: [Deployment Request] Your DApp Name

Include the following in your file:

  • A brief description of what your DApp does
  • Your self-assessed score for each category (1, 2, or 3) with a short rationale for each
  • Any mitigations you have implemented for higher-scoring categories
  • A link to your contract code or repository

Step 4: What happens next​

The Midnight Foundation will review your submission. If your scores are accepted, you will receive deployment credentials. If the review identifies concerns, you will receive feedback on what needs to be addressed before re-submission.

There is no fixed timeline published at this stage. We will communicate clearly when a decision has been made.

Questions? Drop into Discord #dev-chat or post in the developer forum.