Startup time for Clojure itself has become pretty fast. My guess is you were using something like lein or boot which involves more than just starting up Clojure

Startup time for Clojure itself has become pretty fast. My guess is you were using something like lein or boot which involves more than just starting up Clojure. Either way, for scripting uses there are tools like babashka or lumo with sub second startup times.