ci: skip the validator in anchor test for the LiteSVM projects built without an IDL

.github/workflows/anchor.yml

@@ -275,8 +275,8 @@ jobs:
               done
             fi
 
-            # TEMPORARY WORKAROUND - delete this block and the `$idl_flag`
-            # below once an Anchor release after 2.0.0-rc.1 is out.
+            # TEMPORARY WORKAROUND - delete this block and the `$idl_flag` and
+            # `$test_flag` below once an Anchor release after 2.0.0-rc.1 is out.
             #
             # anchor-derive-accounts 2.0.0-rc.1 emits enum type definitions with
             # the JSON key "fields" where the IDL spec requires "variants", so
@@ -297,6 +297,14 @@ jobs:
             # projects consumes a generated IDL (no `idls/` directory, no
             # `declare_program!`). The program is still compiled and its tests
             # still run.
+            #
+            # The skip also means `anchor test` must not start a validator for
+            # these projects. Surfpool 1.6 deploys the program at startup
+            # through a runbook that reads `target/idl/<program>.json`, and with
+            # no IDL it exits with `Runbook execution failed` before any test
+            # runs. None of these projects needs a validator: each one's
+            # Anchor.toml runs `cargo test`, which tests against LiteSVM
+            # in-process.
             case "$project" in
               ./basics/pyth/anchor \
               |./finance/betting-market/anchor \
@@ -309,9 +317,11 @@ jobs:
               |./tokens/token-extensions/transfer-hook/allow-block-list-token/anchor)
                 echo "::notice::skipping IDL generation for $project (anchor#4947)"
                 idl_flag="--no-idl"
+                test_flag="--skip-local-validator"
                 ;;
               *)
                 idl_flag=""
+                test_flag=""
                 ;;
             esac
 
@@ -327,7 +337,7 @@ jobs:
             # Run anchor test. It regenerates the IDL too, so the skip above
             # has to apply here as well or the projects it exempts fail at the
             # test step instead of the build step.
-            if ! anchor test $idl_flag; then
+            if ! anchor test $idl_flag $test_flag; then
               echo "::error::anchor test failed for $project"
               echo "$project: anchor test failed" >> $GITHUB_WORKSPACE/failed_projects.txt
               rm -rf target node_modules

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,6 +4,18 @@ All notable changes to this repository are documented here.
 
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/).
 
+## [2026-09-22] - Anchor v2 CI no longer starts a validator for LiteSVM-only projects
+
+Surfpool 1.6, which the Anchor v2 workflow installs as `latest`, deploys each
+program at startup through a runbook that reads `target/idl/<program>.json`.
+The nine projects built with `--no-idl` (the anchor#4947 workaround) have no
+IDL, so `anchor test` died with `Surfpool startup failed: Runbook execution
+failed` before any test ran, turning main's Anchor v2 runs red.
+
+- `anchor test` runs with `--skip-local-validator` for exactly those nine
+  projects. Each one's Anchor.toml runs `cargo test` against LiteSVM, so none
+  of them ever used the validator. Every other project is tested as before.
+
 ## [2026-09-14] - Token fundraiser contributors can close their accounts
 
 A successful raise exits through `check_contributions`, which closes the vault