I came to the conclusion that I needed a wrapper script.
The answer is here:
https://gitlab.com/ambrevar/lisp-repl-core-dumper
It's a small tool to easily generate fast-loading core, optionally with your favourite systems preloaded:
lisp-repl-core-dumper sbcl alexandria fset
The above generates an image (only if needed) then loads it and drops you in the REPL.
Use the above command to set the entry point to a REPL such as SLIME or SLY, it makes for near instant startup time! This is particularly useful if you use a Common Lisp REPL as your shell and fire up new REPL instances all the time!
Even if you think that the REPL starts fast enough and that you don't need to restart your image much, this wrapper still makes for a more comfortable experience since it's dead simple to use, close to zero setup.
Bonuses:
- Compiler version changes are detected and the image will be automatically regenerated.
- Multiple images can be used simultaneously, thus you can easily switch from an image with just Alexandria to an image with just Fset.
Feedback welcome!