Fixed: Error: hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled

[godmode2k]

• Because this PR includes a bug fix, relevant tests have been included.
• Because this PR includes a new feature, the change was previously discussed on an Issue or with someone from the team.
• [] I didn't do anything of this.

---

Errors:

• hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled - Method not supported
• ProviderError: missing trie node ... (path )

Environment

Geth (a localhost node for a private network)
Geth version: geth-alltools-linux-amd64-1.11.6-ea9e62ca/geth
Hardhat version: Hardhat v2.22.18

Test: Deploy ERC-20 simple token

Error logs

// Hardhat log
hardhat:ignition ProviderError: hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled - Method not supported
  hardhat:ignition     at HttpProvider.request (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/hardhat/src/internal/core/providers/http.ts:92:21)
  hardhat:ignition     at LocalAccountsProvider.request (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/hardhat/src/internal/core/providers/accounts.ts:192:34)
  hardhat:ignition     at async SimpleTaskDefinition.action (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/@nomicfoundation/hardhat-ignition/src/index.ts:285:11)
  hardhat:ignition     at async Environment._runTaskDefinition (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/hardhat/src/internal/core/runtime-environment.ts:351:14)
  hardhat:ignition     at async Environment.run (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/hardhat/src/internal/core/runtime-environment.ts:184:14)
  hardhat:ignition     at async main (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/hardhat/src/internal/cli/cli.ts:324:7) +0ms
Hardhat Ignition 🚀
...

Deploying [ ABCTokenModule ]

An unexpected error occurred:

ProviderError: missing trie node 39928095541acdb7a426f36b579f49f7d58fc4aaee0450425ff6cb737f6eace0 (path ) <nil>
    at HttpProvider.request (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/hardhat/src/internal/core/providers/http.ts:107:21)
    at processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:95:5)
    at async EIP1193JsonRpcClient.getTransactionCount (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/@nomicfoundation/ignition-core/src/internal/execution/jsonrpc-client.ts:475:22)
    at async getNonceSyncMessages (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/@nomicfoundation/ignition-core/src/internal/execution/nonce-management/get-nonce-sync-messages.ts:92:11)
    at async ExecutionEngine._syncNonces (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/@nomicfoundation/ignition-core/src/internal/execution/execution-engine.ts:221:31)
    at async ExecutionEngine.executeModule (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/@nomicfoundation/ignition-core/src/internal/execution/execution-engine.ts:71:23)
    at async Deployer.deploy (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/@nomicfoundation/ignition-core/src/internal/deployer.ts:196:25)
    at async SimpleTaskDefinition.action (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/@nomicfoundation/hardhat-ignition/src/index.ts:314:24)
    at async Environment._runTaskDefinition (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/hardhat/src/internal/core/runtime-environment.ts:351:14)
    at async Environment.run (/work/ethereum/smartcontract_tools/work_erc/_hardhat/test_erc20/node_modules/hardhat/src/internal/core/runtime-environment.ts:184:14)

// Geth log
WARN [02-24|09:21:15.604] Served hardhat_getAutomine               conn=127.0.0.1:51960 reqid=3 duration=2.492341ms err="the method hardhat_getAutomine does not exist/is not available"
WARN [02-24|09:21:15.781] Served eth_getTransactionCount           conn=127.0.0.1:51972 reqid=7 duration=42.805249ms err="missing trie node 39928095541acdb7a426f36b579f49f7d58fc4aaee0450425ff6cb737f6eace0 (path ) <nil>"

ERROR:

1. hardhat:ignition ProviderError: hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled - Method not supported
   (https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat)
2. ProviderError: missing trie node ... (path )
   (https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat-ignition)

FIX 1/2:
hardhat:ignition ProviderError: hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled - Method not supported

hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled is an internal feature of Hardhat and is not intended for other uses.
So, I think if you're running a localhost Geth node for a private network instead of Hardhat's, you'll need to pass that function call.

Fix it as shown below.

Repo: https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/blob/main/packages/hardhat-ignition/src/index.ts: 285, 338
Local: node_modules/@nomicfoundation/hardhat-ignition/dist/src/index.js: 200, 234

...
try {
...
before:
	await hre.network.provider.send("hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled", [false,]);
after:
	if (hre.network.name === "hardhat") { // for Hardhat Network
		await hre.network.provider.send("hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled", [false,]);
	}

...

// Exception error here...
const result = await deploy({ ... });

...

try {
...

before:
	await hre.network.provider.send("hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled", [true,]);

after:
	if (hre.network.name === "hardhat") { // for Hardhat Network
		await hre.network.provider.send("hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled", [true,]);
	}
...

FIX 2/2:
ProviderError: missing trie node ... (path )

In Geth, it returns NULL (or nil) if the transaction count (eth.getTransactionCount(..)) is 0, otherwise, it returns an unsigned integer (value > 0).
You can also view the logs in Geth's log output.

In the Geth console, even if the transaction count is 0, you might encounter an exception error instead of 0, as shown below.

> eth.getTransactionCount(eth.accounts[0], 35)
Error: missing trie node 39928095541acdb7a426f36b579f49f7d58fc4aaee0450425ff6cb737f6eace0 (path ) <nil>
        at web3.js:6365:9(39)
        at send (web3.js:5099:62(29))
        at <eval>:1:24(7)

Hardhat doesn't handle this exceptions.

Fix it as shown below.

Repo: https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat-ignition/blob/development/packages/core/src/internal/execution/jsonrpc-client.ts: 466
Local: node_modules/@nomicfoundation/ignition-core/dist/src/internal/execution/jsonrpc-client.js: 197

async getTransactionCount(address, blockTag) {
...

before:
        const response = await this._provider.request({
            method: "eth_getTransactionCount",
            params: [address, encodedBlockTag],
        });

after:
    try {
        const response = await this._provider.request({
            method: "eth_getTransactionCount",
            params: [address, encodedBlockTag],
        });
    } catch (err) {
        // In Geth (for a private network)
        // Error: missing trie node ...  (path ) <nil>
        // real error or transaction count is 0 (0x0).
        return jsonRpcQuantityToNumber("0x0");
    }


    assertResponseType("eth_getTransactionCount", response, typeof response === "string");
    return jsonRpcQuantityToNumber(response);
}

now, it works good for me.

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Name	Status	Preview	Comments	Updated (UTC)
hardhat	✅ Ready (Inspect)	Visit Preview	💬 Add feedback	Feb 25, 2025 5:52am

[kanej]

Hey @godmode2k, thanks for the PR and sorry for the delay in review.
hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled is used for communication between hardhat-ledger and Hardhat Ignition to control how UI is layed out. The components are communicating over RPC, and this can leak out to the external node - which is why you see the error in Geth for instance.
In Hardhat 3 we have removed this hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled approach entirely.
In Hardhat 2 this is a cumbersome approach, but it can be the case that you want to deploy using Ignition + ledger against a remote (i.e. non-hardhat) network, indeed it is the standard case. The change you are proposing would break the Ignition UI. Hence, I am going to close this PR.
We can look at catching the hardhat_setLedgerOutputEnabled just before it is sent to the remote node, which I think is the place to catch this.