rtk

name

rtk

description

This skill should be used when running any shell command that has an RTK equivalent — including "git status", "ls", "grep", "find", "cat/head/tail", "pnpm test", "cargo build", "curl", "gh", "docker", "kubectl", "vitest", "pytest", "tsc", "eslint", and any other CLI operation where token savings apply. Also use when the user asks about "rtk gain", "token savings", "rtk discover", or "why use rtk".

RTK — Rust Token Killer

A high-performance CLI proxy that filters and summarizes command output before it reaches the LLM context window. Savings range from 60–90% on common dev operations.

How It Works

The Claude Code hook (rtk-rewrite.sh) intercepts every Bash tool call via PreToolUse and rewrites supported commands transparently. No manual rtk prefix needed — git status becomes rtk git status automatically.

Requirement: rtk >= 0.23.0 and jq must be in PATH. The hook exits cleanly if either is missing.

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Command Reference

Always prefer the RTK equivalent when running these commands. The hook handles rewrites automatically, but knowing the mapping helps when debugging or calling rtk directly.

File System

Native	RTK Equivalent	What It Does
ls -la	rtk ls	Compact directory listing
tree	rtk tree	Token-optimized directory tree
find …	rtk find	Compact tree output, accepts native find flags
head -5 file	rtk read file	Intelligent file reading with filtering
cat file	rtk read file	Same — filters noise before returning
wc -l …	rtk wc	Compact word/line/byte count

Git & GitHub

Native	RTK Equivalent	What It Does
git status / git add / git diff	rtk git	Compact git output
git log	rtk git log	Filtered log
gh api …	rtk gh	Token-optimized GitHub CLI
gt …	rtk gt	Graphite stacked PR commands

Search & Text

Native	RTK Equivalent	What It Does
grep -n	rtk grep	Strips whitespace, truncates, groups by file
diff	rtk diff	Ultra-condensed — only changed lines

JavaScript / Node

Native	RTK Equivalent	What It Does
pnpm test / pnpm run	rtk pnpm	Ultra-compact pnpm output
npm run …	rtk npm	Filtered output, strips boilerplate
npx …	rtk npx	Auto-routes to tsc/eslint/prisma filters
npx eslint / eslint	rtk lint	Grouped rule violations
npx prettier --check	rtk prettier	Compact format checker
prettier / black / ruff format	rtk format	Universal format checker
vitest	rtk vitest	Only failures shown
npx tsc / tsc	rtk tsc	TypeScript errors grouped
next build	rtk next	Next.js build, compact output
npx prisma …	rtk prisma	No ASCII art

Python

Native	RTK Equivalent	What It Does
python -m pytest	rtk pytest	Only failures shown
mypy	rtk mypy	Grouped error output
ruff check / ruff format	rtk ruff	Compact linter output
pip install / uv pip install	rtk pip	Auto-detects uv

Rust / Go

Native	RTK Equivalent	What It Does
cargo build / cargo test	rtk cargo	Compact cargo output
go build / go test	rtk go	Compact go output
golangci-lint run	rtk golangci-lint	Compact linter output

Infrastructure & APIs

Native	RTK Equivalent	What It Does
curl -s …	rtk curl	Auto-detects JSON, shows schema not values
aws …	rtk aws	Forces JSON, compresses output
docker …	rtk docker	Compact docker output
kubectl …	rtk kubectl	Compact kubectl output
psql …	rtk psql	Strips table borders, compresses
wget …	rtk wget	Strips progress bars
dotnet build / dotnet test	rtk dotnet	Compact .NET output

Testing (Generic)

Native	RTK Equivalent	What It Does
Any test runner	rtk test <cmd>	Shows only failures
Any command	rtk err <cmd>	Shows only errors/warnings
Any command	rtk summary <cmd>	Heuristic 1-line summary

Utilities

Command	What It Does
rtk json <file>	Shows JSON structure without values
rtk deps	Summarizes project dependencies
rtk env	Shows env vars, masks sensitive values
rtk log <cmd>	Filters and deduplicates log output
rtk smart <cmd>	2-line technical summary (heuristic)

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Meta Commands (always call rtk directly — not rewritten by hook)

rtk gain              # Token savings analytics
rtk gain --history    # Command usage history with per-command savings
rtk discover          # Scan Claude Code history for missed RTK opportunities
rtk cc-economics      # Claude Code spend (ccusage) vs RTK savings comparison
rtk proxy <cmd>       # Execute without filtering (for debugging)
rtk verify            # Verify hook integrity and run inline filter tests
rtk config            # Show or create configuration file
rtk hook-audit        # Show hook rewrite audit metrics (requires RTK_HOOK_AUDIT=1)

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Installation Verification

rtk --version         # Should show: rtk X.Y.Z (need >= 0.23.0)
rtk gain              # Should show savings analytics
which rtk             # Verify correct binary path

Name collision warning: If rtk gain fails or shows "Type Kit", you have reachingforthejack/rtk (Rust Type Kit) installed instead. The correct RTK is from rtk-ai/rtk.

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Flags

Flag	Effect
-u / --ultra-compact	ASCII icons, inline format (Level 2 optimizations)
--skip-env	Sets SKIP_ENV_VALIDATION=1 for child processes (Next.js, tsc, lint, prisma)
-v / -vv / -vvv	Verbosity levels for debugging

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When RTK Does NOT Apply

• Interactive commands (git rebase -i, git add -p, REPL sessions)
• Commands that produce binary or non-text output
• Commands already producing minimal output (single-line results)
• rtk proxy <cmd> — explicitly bypasses filtering for debugging

For unhandled commands, rtk rewrite exits 1 and the hook passes through transparently — there is no penalty for commands RTK doesn't support.