Rtk

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

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

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 --agent windsurf       # Windsurf
rtk init --agent cline          # Cline / Roo Code

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

The hook transparently rewrites Bash commands (e.g., git status -> rtk git status) before execution. Claude never sees the rewrite, it just gets compressed output.

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: