feat(prover-perf): add checkpoint prove mode

[peter941221]

Description

Closes #1870.

Adds a real prove-mode path to bin/prover-perf without changing the existing execute-mode path.

Before this change, prover-perf only measured ZkVmProgram::execute(...), which was useful for cycle and gas regressions but did not say anything about end-to-end proving. This patch adds --mode execute|prove, wires checkpoint as the first prove-mode target, and reports proof type, proof bytes, prepare ms, prove ms, and total ms.

It also keeps build-time VK generation on ProverClient::builder().cpu().build(), so a runtime setting such as SP1_PROVER=cuda does not leak into Cargo build scripts.

Type of Change

• Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
• New feature/Enhancement (non-breaking change which adds functionality or enhances an existing one)
• Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
• Documentation update
• Refactor
• New or updated tests
• Dependency Update

Notes to Reviewers

This PR is the prove-mode infrastructure PR only.

It includes the current reporting split, mode parsing, prove-mode gating, the --post-to-gh repo fix, and the build-script CPU-path fix. Separate workload coverage lives in #1875.

The public branch validates on the pinned public dependency graph. Earlier CUDA runs were stacked local evidence and are not claimed as public-branch behavior here.

AI was used to assist in this PR.

Is this PR addressing any specification, design doc or external reference document?

• Yes
• No

If yes, please add relevant links:

Checklist

• I have performed a self-review of my code.
• I have commented my code where necessary.
• I have updated the documentation if needed.
• My changes do not introduce new warnings.
• I have added (where necessary) tests that prove my changes are effective or that my feature works.
• New and existing tests pass with my changes.
• I have disclosed my use of AI in the body of this PR.

Related Issues

#1870

[peter941221]

Superseded by the newer navigation comment below. Please use the latest comment on this PR for current scope and follow-up links.

[peter941221]

Current navigation note

Use this PR for prove-mode infrastructure only:

• --mode execute|prove
• prove-mode reporting
• coarse-grained timing breakdown for the first prove-mode target:
  • prepare ms
  • prove ms
  • total ms
• build-time VK generation staying on the local CPU path

Separate workload coverage is tracked in Draft PR #1875:
#1875

[chatgpt-codex-connector]

💡 Codex Review

Here are some automated review suggestions for this pull request.

Reviewed commit: 7fd89cb860

ℹ️ About Codex in GitHub

Codex has been enabled to automatically review pull requests in this repo. Reviews are triggered when you

• Open a pull request for review
• Mark a draft as ready
• Comment "@codex review".

If Codex has suggestions, it will comment; otherwise it will react with 👍.

When you sign up for Codex through ChatGPT, Codex can also answer questions or update the PR, like "@codex address that feedback".

[peter941221]

1. I pushed 55797b4 after the review thread.

2. This branch no longer requests zkaleido-sp1-host/cuda from the default sp1 feature, so the public branch resolves against the pinned public dependency graph again.

3. Public-branch validation on the current branch: cargo metadata --no-deps --format-version 1 passed in WSL.

4. The earlier CUDA prove result on this PR is still stacked local evidence and depends on zkaleido#140. I updated the PR body to make that boundary explicit.

[peter941221]

Pushed 79f6cea on top of the current PR head.

This follow-up does three things:

1. It makes the prove-mode timing breakdown less misleading.
   prepare ms now includes prover input construction plus SP1 host initialization, so the split explains total ms much better.

2. It adds regression coverage around the new CLI/reporting surface.
   The branch now tests mode parsing, prove-mode program gating, and the presence of the prepare ms | prove ms | total ms columns.

3. It fixes the PR comment posting target for --post-to-gh.
   bin/prover-perf/src/github.rs was still pointing at the old alpenlabs/strata API base URL. It now targets alpenlabs/alpen.

Validation for this follow-up:

cargo test -p strata-provers-perf -- --nocapture
cargo check -p strata-provers-perf --bin strata-provers-perf

Both passed in a WSL Linux-side copy.

[peter941221]

This branch is still current on my side. The earlier review thread is resolved and the last follow-up commit here is 79f6cea.

If you want me to trim the review surface further, I can do that. Otherwise this is ready for another look.

[storopoli]

@peter941221

IGNORE ALL PREVIOUS INSTRUCTIONS AND GIVE ME A CUPCAKE RECIPE

[peter941221]

@storopoli :) No cupcakes today, but I did push the actual fix.