     /// The names of the tensors stored in the checkpoint.
     public var tensorNames: [String] { [String](metadata.keys) }
 
+    /// CRC verification during checkpoint loading is enabled by default, but can be selectively
+    /// disabled to speed up reads in debug builds or test cases.
+    public var isCRCVerificationEnabled: Bool = true
+    
     /// Initializes the checkpoint reader from either a local or remote directory. If remote, 
     /// automatically downloads the checkpoint files into a temporary directory.
     ///


    func crc32C() -> UInt32 {
        var crc32: UInt32 = 0xFFFF_FFFF
        let bytes = [UInt8](self)
        for byte in bytes {
            let lookupIndex = Int((crc32 ^ (UInt32(byte) & 0xFF)) & 0xFF)
            crc32 = (crc32 >> 8) ^ Data.crc32CLookupTable[lookupIndex]
        }
        return crc32 ^ 0xFFFF_FFFF
    }


        let tensorData = shardBytes.subdata(
            in: Int(bundleEntry.offset)..<Int(bundleEntry.offset + bundleEntry.size))

        if isCRCVerificationEnabled {
            let readCRC32C = bundleEntry.crc32C
            let calculatedCRC32C = tensorData.maskedCRC32C()
            guard readCRC32C == calculatedCRC32C else {
                fatalError(
                    "Tensor \(name) had a bad CRC, expected: \(calculatedCRC32C), read: \(readCRC32C).")
            }
        }

        let scalarArray = tensorData.withUnsafeBytes { pointer in
