rtk-rewrite

> Tutorial Clone — This repository is an educational clone of rtk-ai/rtk, created for learning purposes. It adds concept documentation that demystifies how RTK works internally. For production use, see the original project.

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High-performance CLI proxy that reduces LLM token consumption by 60-90%

<a href="https://www.rtk-ai.app">Website</a> • <a href="#installation">Install</a> • <a href="https://www.rtk-ai.app/guide/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> • <a href="docs/contributing/ARCHITECTURE.md">Architecture</a> • <a href="https://discord.gg/RySmvNF5kF">Discord</a>

<a href="README.md">English</a> • <a href="README_fr.md">Francais</a> • <a href="README_zh.md">中文</a> • <a href="README_ja.md">日本語</a> • <a href="README_ko.md">한국어</a> • <a href="README_es.md">Espanol</a> • <a href="README_pt.md">Português</a>

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rtk filters and compresses command outputs before they reach your LLM context. Single Rust binary, 100+ supported commands, <10ms overhead.

Token Savings (30-min Claude Code Session)

| Operation | Frequency | Standard | rtk | Savings | |-----------|-----------|----------|-----|---------| | ls / tree | 10x | 2,000 | 400 | -80% | | cat / read | 20x | 40,000 | 12,000 | -70% | | grep / rg | 8x | 16,000 | 3,200 | -80% | | git status | 10x | 3,000 | 600 | -80% | | git diff | 5x | 10,000 | 2,500 | -75% | | git log | 5x | 2,500 | 500 | -80% | | git add/commit/push | 8x | 1,600 | 120 | -92% | | cargo test / npm test | 5x | 25,000 | 2,500 | -90% | | ruff check | 3x | 3,000 | 600 | -80% | | pytest | 4x | 8,000 | 800 | -90% | | go test | 3x | 6,000 | 600 | -90% | | docker ps | 3x | 900 | 180 | -80% | | Total | | ~118,000 | ~23,900 | -80% |

> Estimates based on medium-sized TypeScript/Rust projects. Actual savings vary by project size.

Installation

Homebrew (recommended)

brew install rtk

Quick Install (Linux/macOS)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rtk-ai/rtk/refs/heads/master/install.sh | sh

> Installs to ~/.local/bin. Add to PATH if needed: > ``bash > echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc # or ~/.zshrc > ``

Cargo

cargo install --git https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk

Pre-built Binaries

Download from releases:

macOS: rtk-x86_64-apple-darwin.tar.gz / rtk-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
Linux: rtk-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz / rtk-aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
Windows: rtk-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip

> Windows users: Extract the zip and place rtk.exe somewhere in your PATH (e.g. C:\Users\<you>\.local\bin). Run RTK from Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Windows Terminal — do not double-click the .exe (it will flash and close). For the best experience, use WSL where the full hook system works natively. See Windows setup below for details.

Verify Installation

rtk --version   # Should show "rtk 0.28.2"
rtk gain        # Should show token savings stats

> Name collision warning: Another project named "rtk" (Rust Type Kit) exists on crates.io. If rtk gain fails, you have the wrong package. Use cargo install --git above instead.

Quick Start

# 1. Install for your AI tool
rtk init -g                     # Claude Code / Copilot (default)
rtk init -g --gemini            # Gemini CLI
rtk init -g --codex             # Codex (OpenAI)
rtk init -g --agent cursor      # Cursor
rtk init -g --agent windsurf    # Windsurf
rtk init --agent cline          # Cline / Roo Code
rtk init --agent kilocode       # Kilo Code
rtk init --agent antigravity    # Google Antigravity
rtk init -g --agent pi          # Pi
rtk init --agent hermes         # Hermes

# 2. Restart your AI tool, then test
git status  # Automatically rewritten to rtk git status

Hook-based agents rewrite Bash commands (e.g., git status -> rtk git status) before execution. Plugin-based agents, including Hermes, use their plugin API to rewrite commands before execution. The agent receives compact output without needing to call rtk explicitly.

Important: the hook only runs on Bash tool calls. Claude Code built-in tools like Read, Grep, and Glob do not pass through the Bash hook, so they are not auto-rewritten. To get RTK's compact output for those workflows, use shell commands (cat/head/tail, rg/grep, find) or call rtk read, rtk grep, or rtk find directly.

How It Works

  Without rtk:                                    With rtk:

  Claude  --git status-->  shell  -->  git         Claude  --git status-->  RTK  -->  git
    ^                                   |            ^                      |          |
    |        ~2,000 tokens (raw)        |            |   ~200 tokens        | filter   |
    +-----------------------------------+            +------- (filtered) ---+----------+

Four strategies applied per command type:

1. Smart Filtering - Removes noise (comments, whitespace, boilerplate) 2. Grouping - Aggregates similar items (files by directory, errors by type) 3. Truncation - Keeps relevant context, cuts redundancy 4. Deduplication - Collapses repeated log lines with counts

Commands

Files

rtk ls .                        # Token-optimized directory tree
rtk read file.rs                # Smart file reading
rtk read file.rs -l aggressive  # Signatures only (strips bodies)
rtk smart file.rs               # 2-line heuristic code summary
rtk find "*.rs" .               # Compact find results
rtk grep "pattern" .            # Grouped search results
rtk diff file1 file2            # Condensed diff

Git

rtk git status                  # Compact status
rtk git log -n 10               # One-line commits
rtk git diff                    # Condensed diff
rtk git add                     # -> "ok"
rtk git commit -m "msg"         # -> "ok abc1234"
rtk git push                    # -> "ok main"
rtk git pull                    # -> "ok 3 files +10 -2"

GitHub CLI

rtk gh pr list                  # Compact PR listing
rtk gh pr view 42               # PR details + checks
rtk gh issue list               # Compact issue listing
rtk gh run list                 # Workflow run status

Test Runners

rtk jest                        # Jest compact (failures only)
rtk vitest                      # Vitest compact (failures only)
rtk playwright test             # E2E results (failures only)
rtk pytest                      # Python tests (-90%)
rtk go test                     # Go tests (NDJSON, -90%)
rtk cargo test                  # Cargo tests (-90%)
rtk rake test                   # Ruby minitest (-90%)
rtk rspec                       # RSpec tests (JSON, -60%+)
rtk err <cmd>                   # Filter errors only from any command
rtk test <cmd>                  # Generic test wrapper - failures only (-90%)

Build & Lint

rtk lint                        # ESLint grouped by rule/file
rtk lint biome                  # Supports other linters
rtk tsc                         # TypeScript errors grouped by file
rtk next build                  # Next.js build compact
rtk prettier --check .          # Files needing formatting
rtk cargo build                 # Cargo build (-80%)
rtk cargo clippy                # Cargo clippy (-80%)
rtk ruff check                  # Python linting (JSON, -80%)
rtk golangci-lint run           # Go linting (JSON, -85%)
rtk rubocop                     # Ruby linting (JSON, -60%+)

Package Managers

rtk pnpm list                   # Compact dependency tree
rtk pip list                    # Python packages (auto-detect uv)
rtk pip outdated                # Outdated packages
rtk bundle install              # Ruby gems (strip Using lines)
rtk prisma generate             # Schema generation (no ASCII art)

AWS

rtk aws sts get-caller-identity # One-line identity
rtk aws ec2 describe-instances  # Compact instance list
rtk aws lambda list-functions   # Name/runtime/memory (strips secrets)
rtk aws logs get-log-events     # Timestamped messages only
rtk aws cloudformation describe-stack-events  # Failures first
rtk aws dynamodb scan           # Unwraps type annotations
rtk aws iam list-roles          # Strips policy documents
rtk aws s3 ls                   # Truncated with tee recovery

Containers

rtk docker ps                   # Compact container list
rtk docker images               # Compact image list
rtk docker logs <container>     # Deduplicated logs
rtk docker compose ps           # Compose services
rtk kubectl pods                # Compact pod list
rtk kubectl logs <pod>          # Deduplicated logs
rtk kubectl services            # Compact service list

Data & Analytics

rtk json config.json            # Structure without values
rtk deps                        # Dependencies summary
rtk env -f AWS                  # Filtered env vars
rtk log app.log                 # Deduplicated logs
rtk curl <url>                  # Truncate + save full output
rtk wget <url>                  # Download, strip progress bars
rtk summary <long command>      # Heuristic summary
rtk proxy <command>             # Raw passthrough + tracking

Token Savings Analytics

rtk gain                        # Summary stats
rtk gain --graph                # ASCII graph (last 30 days)
rtk gain --history              # Recent command history
rtk gain --daily                # Day-by-day breakdown
rtk gain --all --format json    # JSON export for dashboards

rtk discover                    # Find missed savings opportunities
rtk discover --all --since 7    # All projects, last 7 days

rtk session                     # Show RTK adoption across recent sessions

Global Flags

-u, --ultra-compact    # ASCII icons, inline format (extra token savings)
-v, --verbose          # Increase verbosity (-v, -vv, -vvv)

Examples

Directory listing:

# ls -la (45 lines, ~800 tokens)        # rtk ls (12 lines, ~150 tokens)
drwxr-xr-x  15 user staff 480 ...       my-project/
-rw-r--r--   1 user staff 1234 ...       +-- src/ (8 files)
...                                      |   +-- main.rs
                                         +-- Cargo.toml

Git operations:

# git push (15 lines, ~200 tokens)       # rtk git push (1 line, ~10 tokens)
Enumerating objects: 5, done.             ok main
Counting objects: 100% (5/5), done.
Delta compression using up to 8 threads
...

Test output:

# cargo test (200+ lines on failure)     # rtk test cargo test (~20 lines)
running 15 tests                          FAILED: 2/15 tests
test utils::test_parse ... ok               test_edge_case: assertion failed
test utils::test_format ... ok              test_overflow: panic at utils.rs:18
...

Auto-Rewrite Hook

The most effective way to use rtk. The hook transparently intercepts Bash commands and rewrites them to rtk equivalents before execution.

Result: 100% rtk adoption across all conversations and subagents, zero token overhead.

Scope note: this only applies to Bash tool calls. Claude Code built-in tools such as Read, Grep, and Glob bypass the hook, so use shell commands or explicit rtk commands when you want RTK filtering there.

Setup

rtk init -g                 # Install hook + RTK.md (recommended)
rtk init -g --opencode      # OpenCode plugin (instead of Claude Code)
rtk init -g --auto-patch    # Non-interactive (CI/CD)
rtk init -g --hook-only     # Hook only, no RTK.md
rtk init --show             # Verify installation

After install, restart Claude Code.

Windows

RTK works on Windows with some limitations. The auto-rewrite hook (rtk-rewrite.sh) requires a Unix shell, so on native Windows RTK falls back to CLAUDE.md injection mode — your AI assistant receives RTK instructions but commands are not rewritten automatically.

Recommended: WSL (full support)

For the best experience, use WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux). Inside WSL, RTK works exactly like Linux — full hook support, auto-rewrite, everything:

# Inside WSL
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rtk-ai/rtk/refs/heads/master/install.sh | sh
rtk init -g

Native Windows (limited support)

On native Windows (cmd.exe / PowerShell), RTK filters work but the hook does not auto-rewrite commands:

# 1. Download and extract rtk-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip from releases
# 2. Add rtk.exe to your PATH
# 3. Initialize (falls back to CLAUDE.md injection)
rtk init -g
# 4. Use rtk explicitly
rtk cargo test
rtk git status

Important: Do not double-click rtk.exe — it is a CLI tool that prints usage and exits immediately. Always run it from a terminal (Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Windows Terminal).

| Feature | WSL | Native Windows | |---------|-----|----------------| | Filters (cargo, git, etc.) | Full | Full | | Auto-rewrite hook | Yes | No (CLAUDE.md fallback) | | rtk init -g | Hook mode | CLAUDE.md mode | | rtk gain / analytics | Full | Full |

Supported AI Tools

RTK supports 14 AI coding tools. Each integration rewrites shell commands to rtk equivalents for 60-90% token savings where the agent supports command interception.

| Tool | Install | Method | |------|---------|--------| | Claude Code | rtk init -g | PreToolUse hook (bash) | | GitHub Copilot (VS Code) | rtk init -g --copilot | PreToolUse hook — transparent rewrite | | GitHub Copilot CLI | rtk init -g --copilot | PreToolUse deny-with-suggestion (CLI limitation) | | Cursor | rtk init -g --agent cursor | preToolUse hook (hooks.json) | | Gemini CLI | rtk init -g --gemini | BeforeTool hook | | Codex | rtk init -g --codex | AGENTS.md + RTK.md instructions | | Windsurf | rtk init -g --agent windsurf | .windsurfrules (project-scoped) | | Cline / Roo Code | rtk init --agent cline | .clinerules (project-scoped) | | OpenCode | rtk init -g --opencode | Plugin TS (tool.execute.before) | | OpenClaw | openclaw plugins install ./openclaw | Plugin TS (before_tool_call) | | Pi | rtk init -g --agent pi (global) | TypeScript extension (tool_call) | | Hermes | rtk init --agent hermes | Python plugin adapter (terminal command mutation via rtk rewrite) | | Mistral Vibe | Planned (#800) | Blocked on upstream | | Kilo Code | rtk init --agent kilocode | .kilocode/rules/rtk-rules.md (project-scoped) | | Google Antigravity | rtk init --agent antigravity | .agents/rules/antigravity-rtk-rules.md (project-scoped) |

For per-agent setup details, override controls, and graceful degradation, see the Supported Agents guide. The Hermes plugin source and tests live in hooks/hermes/; installed Hermes runtime files still live under ~/.hermes/plugins/rtk-rewrite/.

Configuration

~/.config/rtk/config.toml (macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/rtk/config.toml):

[hooks]
exclude_commands = ["curl", "playwright"]  # skip rewrite for these

[tee]
enabled = true          # save raw output on failure (default: true)
mode = "failures"       # "failures", "always", or "never"

When a command fails, RTK saves the full unfiltered output so the LLM can read it without re-executing:

FAILED: 2/15 tests
[full output: ~/.local/share/rtk/tee/1707753600_cargo_test.log]

For the full config reference (all sections, env vars, per-project filters), see the Configuration guide.

Uninstall

rtk init -g --uninstall     # Remove hook, RTK.md, settings.json entry
cargo uninstall rtk          # Remove binary
brew uninstall rtk           # If installed via Homebrew

Documentation

rtk-ai.app/guide — full user guide (installation, supported agents, what gets optimized, analytics, configuration, troubleshooting)
INSTALL.md — detailed installation reference
ARCHITECTURE.md — system design and technical decisions
CONTRIBUTING.md — contribution guide
SECURITY.md — security policy

Privacy & Telemetry

RTK can collect anonymous, aggregate usage metrics once per day. Telemetry is disabled by default and requires explicit opt-in consent (GDPR Art. 6, 7) during rtk init or via rtk telemetry enable. This data helps us build a better product: identifying which commands need filters, which filters need improvement, and how much value RTK delivers. For the full list of fields, data handling, and contributor guidelines, see docs/TELEMETRY.md.

What is collected and why:

| Category | Data | Why | |----------|------|-----| | Identity | Salted device hash (SHA-256, not reversible) | Count unique installations without tracking individuals | | Environment | RTK version, OS, architecture, install method | Know which platforms to support and test | | Usage volume | Command count (24h), total commands, tokens saved (24h/30d/total) | Measure adoption and value delivered | | Quality | Top 5 passthrough commands (0% savings), parse failure count, commands with <30% savings | Identify missing filters and weak ones to improve | | Ecosystem | Command category distribution (e.g. git 45%, cargo 20%, js 15%) | Prioritize filter development for popular ecosystems | | Retention | Days since first use, active days in last 30 | Understand engagement and detect churn | | Adoption | AI agent hook type (claude/gemini/codex), custom TOML filter count | Track integration coverage and DSL adoption | | Configuration | Whether config.toml exists, number of excluded commands, project count | Understand user maturity and customization patterns | | Features | Usage counts for meta-commands (gain, discover, proxy, verify) | Know which RTK features are valued vs unused | | Economics | Estimated USD savings (based on API token pricing) | Quantify the value RTK provides to users |

All data is aggregate counts or anonymized command names (first 3 words, no arguments). Top commands report only tool names (e.g. "git", "cargo"), never full command lines.

What is NOT collected: source code, file paths, command arguments, secrets, environment variables, personal data, or repository contents.

Manage telemetry:

rtk telemetry status     # Check current consent state
rtk telemetry enable     # Give consent (interactive prompt)
rtk telemetry disable    # Withdraw consent — stops all collection immediately
rtk telemetry forget     # Withdraw consent + delete all local data + request server-side erasure

Override via environment:

export RTK_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1   # Blocks telemetry regardless of consent

Star History

StarMapper

Core team

Patrick Szymkowiak — Founder

GitHub · LinkedIn

Florian Bruniaux — Core contributor

GitHub · LinkedIn

Adrien Eppling — Core contributor

GitHub · LinkedIn

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open an issue or PR on GitHub.

Join the community on Discord.

License

Apache License 2.0 - see LICENSE for details.

Disclaimer

See DISCLAIMER.md.

Summary

Install to Claude Code

Token Savings (30-min Claude Code Session)

Installation

Homebrew (recommended)

Quick Install (Linux/macOS)

Cargo

Pre-built Binaries

Verify Installation

Quick Start

How It Works

Commands

Files

Git

GitHub CLI

Test Runners

Build & Lint

Package Managers

AWS

Containers

Data & Analytics

Token Savings Analytics

Global Flags

Examples

Auto-Rewrite Hook

Setup

Windows

Recommended: WSL (full support)

Native Windows (limited support)

Supported AI Tools

Configuration

Uninstall

Documentation

Privacy & Telemetry

Star History

StarMapper

Core team

Contributing

License

Disclaimer

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