bug(`anvil`): `--load-state` does not appear to work

[krakovia-evm]

Component

Anvil

Have you ensured that all of these are up to date?

• Foundry
• Foundryup

What version of Foundry are you on?

forge Version: 1.3.0-nightly Commit SHA: c7c9655 Build Timestamp: 2025-07-31T06:04:23.883713400Z (1753941863) Build Profile: maxperf

What version of Foundryup are you on?

1.3.0

What command(s) is the bug in?

anvil --load-state anvil_snapshot.json

Operating System

Windows

Describe the bug

i can save the state with --dump-state without problems.
When i need to start the session again, using --load-state has basically no effects.
Logs from anvil are 1:1 if i don't use the flag at all

[zerosnacks]

I am unable to reproduce this, would you mind creating a minimal reproduction or sharing the anvil_snapshot.json?

I am able to load state without issue.

Setup:

1. anvil --dump-state snapshot.json
2. forge script script/Counter.s.sol --broadcast --private-key <alice's private key> --rpc-url localhost:8545
3. stop anvil
4. start anvil --load-state snapshot.json
5. cast block, notice block number is 1 and not 0
6. cast tx <tx>, yields transaction
7. cast code <contract_address>, yields code

[zerosnacks]

Could it be the case that you are attempting to load state that was not dumped by v1.3? There have been some breaking changes to the serialization format

[krakovia-evm]

Could it be the case that you are attempting to load state that was not dumped by v1.3? There have been some breaking changes to the serialization format

oh wow, yes! that was it!
ty