My local solana test validator is running very slow after upgrading to 1.9.x or 1.10.x. Is there a way to make it fast?

Question

I am trying to run Solana test validator using this command, so that I can do NFT testing.

solana-test-validator --url https://api.devnet.solana.com --clone metaqbxxUerdq28cj1RbAWkYQm3ybzjb6a8bt518x1s --clone PwDiXFxQsGra4sFFTT8r1QWRMd4vfumiWC1jfWNfdYT --clone mgr99QFMYByTqGPWmNqunV7vBLmWWXdSrHUfV8Jf3JM --clone ojLGErfqghuAqpJXE1dguXF7kKfvketCEeah8ig6GU3

The problem I am facing is:

• cli version 1.8.x is not able to deploy the program I am testing
• cli version 1.9.x or 1.10.x runs very slow while testing. Transaction is taking a long time to process

During my search, I came across this issue: https://github.com/solana-labs/solana/issues/23376

Is there some flags that we can use to make the local validator fast for testing?

My Computer: Macbook Pro with M1 Pro

--- Working Solution ---

After referencing the staking contract by cardinal labs, I found out this:

Loading program like this was causing my tests to run slow:

export function loadProgram(walletKeyPair: anchor.web3.Keypair) {
  const conn = new anchor.web3.Connection(
    process.env.ANCHOR_PROVIDER_URL
  );
  const walletWrapper = new anchor.Wallet(walletKeyPair);
  const provider = new anchor.AnchorProvider(conn, walletWrapper, {
    preflightCommitment: "processed",
    commitment: "processed",
  });
  return new anchor.Program(IDL, PROGRAM_ID, provider);
}

Loading program like this made my tests run fast:

const getProvider = (): anchor.AnchorProvider => {
  const anchorProvider = anchor.AnchorProvider.env();
  anchor.setProvider(anchorProvider);
  return anchorProvider;
};

export function loadProgram() {
  const provider = getProvider();
  return new anchor.Program(IDL, PROGRAM_ID, provider);
}

Answer 1

It takes a long time to process, or stalls completely?

I was running into errors with transactions stalling indefinitely on my M1. Running solana-test-validator with --no-bpf-jit fixed it.