Initial setup of the dev-server is pretty slow because every CLI command (while js-controller isn't running) starts two DB instances, connects to them, performs its command and shuts down the DBs again. It would be much faster to spin up the DB manually, perform all CLI commands (or edit objects directly) and then shut down the DBs before starting the controller.
Here's an example how @iobroker/testing does it:
https://github.com/ioBroker/testing/blob/c30c06c228285811aa05cf58d731493b8565729d/src/tests/integration/lib/dbConnection.ts#L122-L135
https://github.com/ioBroker/testing/blob/c30c06c228285811aa05cf58d731493b8565729d/src/tests/integration/lib/harness.ts#L106-L108
https://github.com/ioBroker/testing/blob/c30c06c228285811aa05cf58d731493b8565729d/src/tests/integration/lib/harness.ts#L265-L275