Error when running snarkjs groth16 setup: ENOENT: no such file or directory, open 'proving_key.json'

[Jacques]

I'm encountering an issue when trying to run the snarkjs groth16 setup command. The command I'm running is:

snarkjs groth16 setup circuits/simple.r1cs proving_key.json verification_key.json

The error message I'm getting is:

[ERROR] snarkJS: [Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, open 'proving_key.json'] {
  errno: -2,
  code: 'ENOENT',
  syscall: 'open',
  path: 'proving_key.json'
}

This is puzzling because the snarkjs groth16 setup command should be creating the proving_key.json file, not attempting to open it.

Here are the relevant details about my environment:

• snarkjs version: 0.7.0
• Node.js version: v18.12.1
• Operating system: macOS with an Apple M1 chip

I've tried the following steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Checked that my current directory is writable.
2. Uninstalled and reinstalled snarkjs with npm uninstall -g snarkjs and npm install -g snarkjs.
3. Tried running the command with sudo.
4. Tried running the Terminal using Rosetta.

None of these steps have resolved the issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Blaine Bublitz]

You are using the setup command, which has this syntax: groth16 setup [circuit.r1cs] [powersoftau.ptau] [circuit_0000.zkey]

You are probably looking for a different command.