chore(port): forward-port v5-next e2e/testing backlog to next (#24930)

Forward-ports the **end-to-end / testing** slice of the v5-next → next
backlog (work merged to `v5-next` after the ~2026-07-08 cut that
reshaped `next`).

## Applied (clean cherry-picks, chronological)
- #24518 docs(e2e): update READMEs for the consolidated suite layout
- #24534 test(e2e): instrument and diagnose bot suite setup cost
- #24566 perf(e2e): warp dead waits in multi-node recovery and proving
tests
- #24570 perf(e2e): shrink e2e slot times
- #24564 perf(e2e): seed BananaFPC fee juice at genesis instead of
bridging
- #24568 perf(e2e): seed standard contracts at genesis
- #24597 chore: add writing-e2e-tests skill
- #24590 feat(e2e): interactive handshake e2e
- #24671 test: fix proof_boundary startup race

## ⚠️ Needs owner conflict-resolution (conflict against reshaped `next`;
not included here)
Cherry-pick onto this branch and resolve:
- [ ] #24569 `git cherry-pick -x 1d280af` — perf(e2e): overlap and
batch setup txs in e2e harnesses
- [ ] #24479 `git cherry-pick -x da9ac1c` — feat: assert non
revertible phase when setting fee payer

Part of the manual v5-next backlog sweep. Draft until owners resolve the
conflicts above and CI is green.

Author: spalladino

barretenberg/cpp/src/barretenberg/world_state/world_state.cpp

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ WorldState::WorldState(uint64_t thread_pool_size,
                        const std::unordered_map<MerkleTreeId, uint32_t>& tree_heights,
                        const std::unordered_map<MerkleTreeId, index_t>& tree_prefill,
                        const std::vector<PublicDataLeafValue>& prefilled_public_data,
+                       const std::vector<bb::fr>& prefilled_nullifiers,
                        uint32_t initial_header_generator_point,
                        uint64_t genesis_timestamp,
                        bool ephemeral)
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ WorldState::WorldState(uint64_t thread_pool_size,
 {
     // We set the max readers to be high, at least the number of given threads or the default if higher
     uint64_t maxReaders = std::max(thread_pool_size, DEFAULT_MIN_NUMBER_OF_READERS);
-    create_canonical_fork(data_dir, map_size, prefilled_public_data, maxReaders, ephemeral);
+    create_canonical_fork(data_dir, map_size, prefilled_public_data, prefilled_nullifiers, maxReaders, ephemeral);
     try {
         attempt_tree_resync();
     } catch (std::exception& e) {
@@ -73,6 +74,7 @@ WorldState::WorldState(uint64_t thread_pool_size,
                              tree_heights,
                              tree_prefill,
                              std::vector<PublicDataLeafValue>(),
+                             std::vector<bb::fr>(),
                              initial_header_generator_point,
                              genesis_timestamp,
                              ephemeral)
@@ -84,6 +86,7 @@ WorldState::WorldState(uint64_t thread_pool_size,
                        const std::unordered_map<MerkleTreeId, uint32_t>& tree_heights,
                        const std::unordered_map<MerkleTreeId, index_t>& tree_prefill,
                        const std::vector<PublicDataLeafValue>& prefilled_public_data,
+                       const std::vector<bb::fr>& prefilled_nullifiers,
                        uint32_t initial_header_generator_point,
                        uint64_t genesis_timestamp,
                        bool ephemeral)
@@ -99,6 +102,7 @@ WorldState::WorldState(uint64_t thread_pool_size,
                  tree_heights,
                  tree_prefill,
                  prefilled_public_data,
+                 prefilled_nullifiers,
                  initial_header_generator_point,
                  genesis_timestamp,
                  ephemeral)
@@ -118,6 +122,7 @@ WorldState::WorldState(uint64_t thread_pool_size,
                  tree_heights,
                  tree_prefill,
                  std::vector<PublicDataLeafValue>(),
+                 std::vector<bb::fr>(),
                  initial_header_generator_point,
                  genesis_timestamp,
                  ephemeral)
@@ -126,6 +131,7 @@ WorldState::WorldState(uint64_t thread_pool_size,
 void WorldState::create_canonical_fork(const std::string& dataDir,
                                        const std::unordered_map<MerkleTreeId, uint64_t>& dbSize,
                                        const std::vector<PublicDataLeafValue>& prefilled_public_data,
+                                       const std::vector<bb::fr>& prefilled_nullifiers,
                                        uint64_t maxReaders,
                                        bool ephemeral)
 {
@@ -148,9 +154,15 @@ void WorldState::create_canonical_fork(const std::string& dataDir,
     {
         uint32_t levels = _tree_heights.at(MerkleTreeId::NULLIFIER_TREE);
         index_t initial_size = _initial_tree_size.at(MerkleTreeId::NULLIFIER_TREE);
+        std::vector<NullifierLeafValue> prefilled_nullifier_leaves;
+        prefilled_nullifier_leaves.reserve(prefilled_nullifiers.size());
+        for (const auto& nullifier : prefilled_nullifiers) {
+            prefilled_nullifier_leaves.emplace_back(nullifier);
+        }
         auto store = std::make_unique<NullifierStore>(
             getMerkleTreeName(MerkleTreeId::NULLIFIER_TREE), levels, _persistentStores->nullifierStore);
-        auto tree = std::make_unique<NullifierTree>(std::move(store), _workers, initial_size);
+        auto tree =
+            std::make_unique<NullifierTree>(std::move(store), _workers, initial_size, prefilled_nullifier_leaves);
         fork->_trees.insert({ MerkleTreeId::NULLIFIER_TREE, TreeWithStore(std::move(tree)) });
     }
     {

barretenberg/cpp/src/barretenberg/world_state/world_state.hpp

@@ -82,11 +82,15 @@ class WorldState {
                const std::unordered_map<MerkleTreeId, uint32_t>& tree_heights,
                const std::unordered_map<MerkleTreeId, index_t>& tree_prefill,
                const std::vector<PublicDataLeafValue>& prefilled_public_data,
+               const std::vector<bb::fr>& prefilled_nullifiers,
                uint32_t initial_header_generator_point,
                uint64_t genesis_timestamp = 0,
                bool ephemeral = false);
 
     /**
+     * @param prefilled_nullifiers Nullifier leaves to pre-insert into the genesis nullifier tree (e.g. the protocol
+     *                  contract registration nullifiers). Must be unique and strictly increasing in field value, and
+     *                  distinct from the padding leaves implied by the nullifier tree prefill size.
      * @param ephemeral When true, every underlying LMDB env opens with `MDB_NOSYNC |
      *                  MDB_NOMETASYNC`. Commits return without waiting for fsync; the kernel
      *                  flushes lazily, files stay sparse. Intended for throwaway scratch
@@ -99,6 +103,7 @@ class WorldState {
                const std::unordered_map<MerkleTreeId, uint32_t>& tree_heights,
                const std::unordered_map<MerkleTreeId, index_t>& tree_prefill,
                const std::vector<PublicDataLeafValue>& prefilled_public_data,
+               const std::vector<bb::fr>& prefilled_nullifiers,
                uint32_t initial_header_generator_point,
                uint64_t genesis_timestamp = 0,
                bool ephemeral = false);
@@ -326,6 +331,7 @@ class WorldState {
     void create_canonical_fork(const std::string& dataDir,
                                const std::unordered_map<MerkleTreeId, uint64_t>& dbSize,
                                const std::vector<PublicDataLeafValue>& prefilled_public_data,
+                               const std::vector<bb::fr>& prefilled_nullifiers,
                                uint64_t maxReaders,
                                bool ephemeral);
 

barretenberg/cpp/src/barretenberg/world_state/world_state.test.cpp

@@ -211,6 +211,57 @@ TEST_F(WorldStateTest, GetInitialTreeInfoForAllTrees)
     }
 }
 
+TEST_F(WorldStateTest, GetInitialTreeInfoWithPrefilledNullifiers)
+{
+    // Prefilled nullifier leaves must be unique and strictly increasing, and larger than the padding leaves that fill
+    // the initial 128-leaf prefill region (whose keys are the low integers 0..127), so we use full-size field values.
+    std::vector<bb::fr> prefilled_nullifiers = {
+        bb::fr("0x073b5e41abe9d7f8466bca9c81c9572b558f953bbd70081317f6a80ac65f3dd5"),
+        bb::fr("0x0d99507b7ecac720c73bf197a0e7366a5ed80c1c1b0afe8ff8c6ecc7b5a7aefe"),
+        bb::fr("0x1c0bf82e0c51834780e61ef091b17e3a1d39ae891db7a70bfdb5221f134996ac"),
+    };
+
+    std::string data_dir_prefilled = random_temp_directory();
+    std::filesystem::create_directories(data_dir_prefilled);
+
+    WorldState ws_prefilled(thread_pool_size,
+                            data_dir_prefilled,
+                            map_size,
+                            tree_heights,
+                            tree_prefill,
+                            std::vector<PublicDataLeafValue>(),
+                            prefilled_nullifiers,
+                            initial_header_generator_point);
+
+    // Baseline world state with no prefilled nullifiers (the canonical empty genesis).
+    WorldState ws(thread_pool_size, data_dir, map_size, tree_heights, tree_prefill, initial_header_generator_point);
+
+    auto prefilled = ws_prefilled.get_tree_info(WorldStateRevision::committed(), MerkleTreeId::NULLIFIER_TREE);
+    auto info = ws.get_tree_info(WorldStateRevision::committed(), MerkleTreeId::NULLIFIER_TREE);
+
+    // The prefilled nullifiers occupy the last slots of the 128-leaf initial prefill region (they replace padding
+    // leaves rather than being appended), so the tree size stays 128 for both.
+    EXPECT_EQ(prefilled.meta.size, 128);
+    EXPECT_EQ(info.meta.size, 128);
+
+    // Seeding the nullifiers changes the nullifier-tree root away from the empty-genesis baseline.
+    EXPECT_NE(prefilled.meta.root, info.meta.root);
+    // The empty-genesis baseline root is unchanged from the canonical value, confirming that a default (empty)
+    // prefilled-nullifiers list leaves the genesis nullifier-tree root bit-identical to today.
+    EXPECT_EQ(info.meta.root, bb::fr("0x18935581a8ed73d08ffd00386fba55ba6c89f3ab848a76b8fedfa9034cee0454"));
+
+    // The seeded nullifiers are present in the tree.
+    for (const auto& nullifier : prefilled_nullifiers) {
+        assert_leaf_exists<NullifierLeafValue>(ws_prefilled,
+                                               WorldStateRevision::committed(),
+                                               MerkleTreeId::NULLIFIER_TREE,
+                                               NullifierLeafValue(nullifier),
+                                               true);
+    }
+
+    std::filesystem::remove_all(data_dir_prefilled);
+}
+
 TEST_F(WorldStateTest, GetInitialTreeInfoWithPrefilledPublicData)
 {
     std::string data_dir_prefilled = random_temp_directory();
@@ -225,6 +276,7 @@ TEST_F(WorldStateTest, GetInitialTreeInfoWithPrefilledPublicData)
                             tree_heights,
                             tree_prefill,
                             prefilled_values,
+                            std::vector<bb::fr>(),
                             initial_header_generator_point);
 
     WorldState ws(thread_pool_size, data_dir, map_size, tree_heights, tree_prefill, initial_header_generator_point);

barretenberg/cpp/src/barretenberg/wsdb/cli.cpp

@@ -65,6 +65,11 @@ int parse_and_run_wsdb(int argc, char* argv[])
     msgpack_run_command->add_option(
         "--prefilled-public-data", prefilled_public_data_json, "Prefilled public data as JSON array");
 
+    // Prefilled nullifiers as JSON array of nullifier_hex strings
+    std::string prefilled_nullifiers_json;
+    msgpack_run_command->add_option(
+        "--prefilled-nullifiers", prefilled_nullifiers_json, "Prefilled genesis nullifiers as JSON array");
+
     uint64_t genesis_timestamp = 0;
     msgpack_run_command->add_option("--genesis-timestamp", genesis_timestamp, "Genesis block timestamp (default: 0)");
 
@@ -98,6 +103,7 @@ int parse_and_run_wsdb(int argc, char* argv[])
                                        threads,
                                        initial_header_generator_point,
                                        prefilled_public_data_json,
+                                       prefilled_nullifiers_json,
                                        genesis_timestamp,
                                        request_ring_size,
                                        response_ring_size);

barretenberg/cpp/src/barretenberg/wsdb/wsdb_ipc_server.cpp

@@ -130,6 +130,34 @@ static std::vector<PublicDataLeafValue> parse_prefilled_public_data(const std::s
     return result;
 }
 
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Parse prefilled nullifiers from JSON: ["nullifier_hex",...]
+// Each hex string is a 64-char (32-byte) hex-encoded field element.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+static std::vector<fr> parse_prefilled_nullifiers(const std::string& json)
+{
+    std::vector<fr> result;
+    if (json.empty() || json == "[]") {
+        return result;
+    }
+
+    std::string current;
+    bool in_string = false;
+
+    for (char c : json) {
+        if (c == '"') {
+            in_string = !in_string;
+        } else if (in_string) {
+            current += c;
+        } else if ((c == ',' || c == ']') && !current.empty()) {
+            result.push_back(hex_to_fr(current));
+            current.clear();
+        }
+    }
+    return result;
+}
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // IPC server execution
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -142,6 +170,7 @@ int execute_wsdb_server(const std::string& input_path,
                         uint32_t threads,
                         uint32_t initial_header_generator_point,
                         const std::string& prefilled_public_data_json,
+                        const std::string& prefilled_nullifiers_json,
                         uint64_t genesis_timestamp,
                         size_t request_ring_size,
                         size_t response_ring_size)
@@ -173,6 +202,14 @@ int execute_wsdb_server(const std::string& input_path,
         std::cerr << "Parsed " << prefilled_public_data.size() << " prefilled public data entries" << '\n';
     }
 
+    // Parse prefilled nullifiers: JSON array of "nullifier_hex" strings. The caller (TS world-state) passes the same
+    // canonical genesis nullifiers it seeds via the napi path, so the IPC genesis nullifier-tree root matches.
+    std::vector<bb::fr> prefilled_nullifiers;
+    if (!prefilled_nullifiers_json.empty()) {
+        prefilled_nullifiers = parse_prefilled_nullifiers(prefilled_nullifiers_json);
+        std::cerr << "Parsed " << prefilled_nullifiers.size() << " prefilled nullifiers" << '\n';
+    }
+
     // Create WorldState
     std::cerr << "Creating WorldState at " << data_dir << " with " << threads << " threads" << '\n';
     auto ws = std::make_unique<WorldState>(threads,
@@ -181,6 +218,7 @@ int execute_wsdb_server(const std::string& input_path,
                                            tree_height,
                                            tree_prefill,
                                            prefilled_public_data,
+                                           prefilled_nullifiers,
                                            initial_header_generator_point,
                                            genesis_timestamp);
 

barretenberg/cpp/src/barretenberg/wsdb/wsdb_ipc_server.hpp

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ int execute_wsdb_server(const std::string& input_path,
                         uint32_t threads,
                         uint32_t initial_header_generator_point,
                         const std::string& prefilled_public_data_json,
+                        const std::string& prefilled_nullifiers_json,
                         uint64_t genesis_timestamp,
                         size_t request_ring_size,
                         size_t response_ring_size);

docs/docs-developers/docs/resources/migration_notes.md

@@ -186,8 +186,6 @@ Registering classes and instances are now separate, unvalidated operations. `reg
   The new class is used automatically once the upgrade takes effect on chain; no further PXE action is needed. Registering it beforehand is harmless: until the update activates, the node still resolves the contract's current class to the previous one, so it keeps running its old code.
 
 - `pxe.getContractInstance(address)` and `wallet.getContractMetadata(address).instance` now return the contract's **address preimage**, which no longer includes `currentContractClassId`.
-
-
 ### [Aztec.js] `AccountWithSecretKey` removed, read account keys from the `AccountManager` or PXE
 
 `AccountWithSecretKey` was a thin wrapper that bundled an account's transaction signer with its master secret key, used mainly to print or export the secret. It has been removed, and `AccountManager.getAccount()` now returns the plain `Account` signer. The wrapper's extra methods are no longer available on that value:

noir-projects/aztec-nr/aztec/src/context/private_context.nr

@@ -538,11 +538,22 @@ impl PrivateContext {
     /// Only one contract per transaction can declare itself as the fee payer, and it must have sufficient fee-juice
     /// balance (>= the gas limits specified in the TxContext) by the time we reach the public setup phase of the tx.
     ///
+    /// The fee payer must be elected during the setup (non-revertible) phase, i.e. before
+    /// [`end_setup`](PrivateContext::end_setup) is called - this function asserts so. This is because any compensation
+    /// collected by the fee payer during the revertible phase can be discarded if a public call later reverts, while
+    /// the protocol still debits the fee payer's fee-juice balance. Note that `end_setup` does not need to be called
+    /// by the electing function itself: it can be called later in the transaction (e.g. by the fee-juice contract when
+    /// claiming fee juice that pays for the very same transaction).
     pub fn set_as_fee_payer(&mut self) {
+        assert(!self.in_revertible_phase(), "fee payer must be elected during the setup phase");
         aztecnr_trace_log_format!("Setting {0} as fee payer")([self.this_address().to_field()]);
         self.is_fee_payer = true;
     }
 
+    /// Returns whether execution is currently in the revertible (app) phase of the transaction.
+    ///
+    /// A transaction is in the revertible phase if [`end_setup`](PrivateContext::end_setup) has already been called -
+    /// potentially by a different function of the same transaction.
     pub fn in_revertible_phase(&mut self) -> bool {
         let current_counter = self.side_effect_counter;