I am trying to start solana-test-validator, but it closes unexpectedly with blockstore error.
Error: failed to start validator: Failed to create ledger at test-ledger: blockstore error
How can I fix this?
5 Answers
it seems like something is not right with the tar version in Mac OS 13. I could fix the issue by replacing tar with a homebrew gnu version:
brew install gnu-tar
# Put this in ~/.zshrc
export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/gnu-tar/libexec/gnubin:$PATH"
Hope that helps.
There is an open GitHub issue at Solana Labs to make the install experience better for macOS users with the default BSD tar installed.
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I have gnu-tar in a different location. After adding export PATH="/usr/local/Cellar/gnu-tar/1.34_1/libexec/gnubin:$PATH" to ~/.zshrc it was fixed. Commented Dec 22, 2022 at 15:45
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This also fixed it for me on MacOS Ventura 13.3.1 M1 with solana-cli 1.14.18 and rustc pinned to 1.65.0 using a rust-toolchain.toml Commented May 25, 2023 at 23:27
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this fixed my problem though the error log is different: 'Error: failed to start validator: Failed to create ledger at test-ledger: io error: Error checking to unpack genesis archive: Archive error: extra entry found: "._genesis.bin" Regular'– DiveIntoCommented Mar 23 at 9:47
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@diveinto Yep, that's the same cause. I'd originally added a bunch of detail to this answer but have now moved it to a separate answer below. Solana CLI (and therefore Anchor) aren't ready to use BSD tar, there's an open GitHub issue to fix it, my answer has more details.– mikemaccana ♦Commented May 30 at 19:56
Note: you might also have this error occur when you run anchor test:
Unable to get latest blockhash. Test validator does not look started. Check ".anchor/test-ledger/test-ledger-log.txt" for errors. Consider increasing [test.startup_wait] in Anchor.toml.
Looking inside .anchor/test-ledger/test-ledger-log.txt, you will see:
Error checking to unpack genesis archive: Archive error: extra entry found: "._genesis.bin" Regular
The cause and solution
There are multiple versions of the 'tape archiver' (tar) program.
MacOS comes with BSD tar by default:
% tar --help | grep bsdtar
tar(bsdtar): manipulate archive files
Which is a less popular version of tar than the GNU tar. solana-test-validator expects GNU tar.
There is an issue to resolve the GNU tar dependendency. In the meantime, you can work around this issue by replacing BSD tar with a GNU version.
If you haven't installed homebrew, do that first. Then run:
brew install gnu-tar
# Put this in ~/.zshrc
export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/gnu-tar/libexec/gnubin:$PATH"
You will now have BSD tar installed.
And then re-run solana-test-validator
I had the same problem
solana-test-validator --reset
worked for me
If you're facing the same error even after installing gnu-tar. Try removing the test-ledger folder rm -rf test-ledger and try again.
This is because the BSD tar program is not compatible with the GNU tar program.
To fix it: you need to install and export the executable path of your GNU tar program in your .zshrc file.
Mac with Apple Silicon
brew install gnu-tar
# Put this in ~/.zshrc
export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/gnu-tar/libexec/gnubin:$PATH"
Intel-based Mac
brew install gnu-tar
# Put this in ~/.zshrc
export PATH="/usr/local/opt/gnu-tar/libexec/gnubin:$PATH"
the only reason there are separate exports for intel-based macs and macs with apple silicon is that, by default, homebrew executables are stored at different locations for macs with respective chipset.
./validator/solana-test-validator?