Step 5: Deploy to Neo-Express (Local Chain)

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Neo-Express provides a local Neo N3 blockchain for testing. This section walks through a manual deployment.

5a. Create a Local Chain

NEOXP=./build/dotnet-tools/neoxp

# Create a fresh single-node chain
$NEOXP create -f -o chain.neo-express

# Transfer GAS to the deployer account
$NEOXP transfer -i chain.neo-express 100 GAS genesis node1

5b. Deploy the Contract

$NEOXP contract deploy -i chain.neo-express build/MyStorage.nef node1

The output includes the contract hash and transaction hash. Note the contract hash -- you will need it to invoke methods.

5c. Invoke a Method (Write)

Create an invocation file invoke-set.neo-invoke.json:

{
    "contract": "0x<your-contract-hash>",
    "operation": "set",
    "args": [42]
}

Invoke it:

$NEOXP contract invoke -i chain.neo-express invoke-set.neo-invoke.json node1

5d. Invoke a Method (Read)

Create invoke-get.neo-invoke.json:

{
    "contract": "0x<your-contract-hash>",
    "operation": "get",
    "args": []
}

Invoke with -r for read-only (no transaction, no GAS cost):

$NEOXP contract invoke -r -j -i chain.neo-express invoke-get.neo-invoke.json node1

Expected output:

{
    "state": "HALT",
    "stack": [
        {
            "type": "Integer",
            "value": "42"
        }
    ]
}

5e. Run the Automated Smoke Test

Instead of manual steps, you can run the repository's built-in smoke test:

make test-deploy-smoke

This script automatically:

1. Builds neo-solc if needed
2. Compiles a test contract
3. Creates a fresh Neo-Express chain
4. Deploys the contract
5. Invokes set(7), verifies the ValueSet event
6. Invokes get(), verifies it returns 7
7. Invokes height(), verifies it returns an integer (tests native contract calls)