rtk-optimizer

name	rtk-optimizer
description	Wrap high-verbosity shell commands with RTK to reduce token consumption. Use when running git log, git diff, cargo test, pytest, or other verbose CLI output that wastes context window tokens.
version	1.0.0
tags	["optimization","tokens","efficiency","git"]
effort	low

RTK Optimizer Skill

Purpose: Automatically suggest RTK wrappers for high-verbosity commands to reduce token consumption.

How It Works

1. Detect high-verbosity commands in user requests
2. Suggest RTK wrapper if applicable
3. Execute with RTK when user confirms
4. Track savings over session

Supported Commands

Git (>70% reduction)

• git log → rtk git log (92.3% reduction)
• git status → rtk git status (76.0% reduction)
• find → rtk find (76.3% reduction)

Medium-Value (50-70% reduction)

• git diff → rtk git diff (55.9% reduction)
• cat <large-file> → rtk read <file> (62.5% reduction)

JS/TS Stack (70-90% reduction)

• pnpm list → rtk pnpm list (82% reduction)
• pnpm test / vitest run → rtk vitest run (90% reduction)

Rust Toolchain (80-90% reduction)

• cargo test → rtk cargo test (90% reduction)
• cargo build → rtk cargo build (80% reduction)
• cargo clippy → rtk cargo clippy (80% reduction)

Python & Go (90% reduction)

• pytest → rtk python pytest (90% reduction)
• go test → rtk go test (90% reduction)

GitHub CLI (79-87% reduction)

• gh pr view → rtk gh pr view (87% reduction)
• gh pr checks → rtk gh pr checks (79% reduction)

File Operations

• ls → rtk ls (condensed output)
• grep → rtk grep (filtered output)

Activation Examples

User: "Show me the git history" Skill: Detects git log → Suggests rtk git log → Explains 92.3% token savings

User: "Find all markdown files" Skill: Detects find → Suggests rtk find "*.md" . → Explains 76.3% savings

Installation Check

Before first use, verify RTK is installed:

rtk --version  # Should output: rtk 0.16.0+

If not installed:

# Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
brew install rtk-ai/tap/rtk

# Cargo (all platforms)
cargo install rtk

Usage Pattern

# When user requests high-verbosity command:

1. Acknowledge request
2. Suggest RTK optimization:
   "I'll use `rtk git log` to reduce token usage by ~92%"
3. Execute RTK command
4. Track savings (optional):
   "Saved ~13K tokens (baseline: 14K, RTK: 1K)"

Session Tracking

Optional: Track cumulative savings across session:

# At session end
rtk gain  # Shows total token savings for session (SQLite-backed)

Edge Cases

• Small outputs (<100 chars): Skip RTK (overhead not worth it)
• Already using Claude tools: Grep/Read tools are already optimized
• Multiple commands: Batch with RTK wrapper once, not per command

Configuration

Enable via CLAUDE.md:

## Token Optimization

Use RTK (Rust Token Killer) for high-verbosity commands:
- git operations (log, status, diff)
- package managers (pnpm, npm)
- build tools (cargo, go)
- test frameworks (vitest, pytest)
- file finding and reading

Metrics (Verified)

Based on real-world testing:

• git log: 13,994 chars → 1,076 chars (92.3% reduction)
• git status: 100 chars → 24 chars (76.0% reduction)
• find: 780 chars → 185 chars (76.3% reduction)
• git diff: 15,815 chars → 6,982 chars (55.9% reduction)
• read file: 163,587 chars → 61,339 chars (62.5% reduction)

Average: 72.6% token reduction

Limitations

• 446 stars on GitHub, actively maintained (30 releases in 23 days)
• Not suitable for interactive commands
• Rapid development cadence (check for breaking changes)

Recommendation

Use RTK for: git workflows, file operations, test frameworks, build tools, package managers Skip RTK for: small outputs, quick exploration, interactive commands

References

• RTK GitHub: https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk
• RTK Website: https://www.rtk-ai.app/
• Evaluation: docs/resource-evaluations/rtk-evaluation.md
• CLAUDE.md template: examples/claude-md/rtk-optimized.md