RTK Installation Guide - For AI Coding Assistants

⚠️ Name Collision Warning

There are TWO completely different projects named "rtk":

✅ Rust Token Killer (this project) - LLM token optimizer
- Repos: rtk-ai/rtk
- Has rtk gain command for token savings stats
❌ Rust Type Kit (reachingforthejack/rtk) - DIFFERENT PROJECT
- Rust codebase query tool and type generator
- DO NOT install if you want token optimization

Pre-Installation Check (REQUIRED)

AI assistants should ALWAYS verify if RTK is already installed before attempting installation.

bash

# Check if RTK is installed
rtk --version

# CRITICAL: Verify it's the Token Killer (not Type Kit)
rtk gain    # Should show token savings stats, NOT "command not found"

# Check installation path
which rtk

If rtk gain works, you have the correct RTK installed. DO NOT reinstall. Skip to "Project Initialization".

If rtk gain fails but rtk --version succeeds, you have the wrong RTK (Type Kit). Uninstall and reinstall the correct one (see below).

Installation (only if RTK not available or wrong RTK installed)

Step 0: Uninstall Wrong RTK (if needed)

If you accidentally installed Rust Type Kit:

bash

cargo uninstall rtk

Quick Install (Linux/macOS)

bash

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

After installation, verify you have the correct rtk:

bash

rtk gain  # Must show token savings stats (not "command not found")

Alternative: Manual Installation

bash

# From rtk-ai repository (NOT reachingforthejack!)
cargo install --git https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk

# OR (if published and correct on crates.io)
cargo install rtk

# ALWAYS VERIFY after installation
rtk gain  # MUST show token savings, not "command not found"

⚠️ WARNING: cargo install rtk from crates.io might install the wrong package. Always verify with rtk gain.

Project Initialization

Which mode to choose?

  Do you want RTK active across ALL Claude Code projects?
  │
  ├─ YES → rtk init -g              (recommended)
  │         Hook + RTK.md (~10 tokens in context)
  │         Commands auto-rewritten transparently
  │
  ├─ YES, minimal → rtk init -g --hook-only
  │         Hook only, nothing added to CLAUDE.md
  │         Zero tokens in context
  │
  └─ NO, single project → rtk init
            Local CLAUDE.md only (137 lines)
            No hook, no global effect

Recommended: Global Hook-First Setup

Best for: All projects, automatic RTK usage

bash

rtk init -g
# → Installs hook to ~/.claude/hooks/rtk-rewrite.sh
# → Creates ~/.claude/RTK.md (10 lines, meta commands only)
# → Adds @RTK.md reference to ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
# → Prompts: "Patch settings.json? [y/N]"
# → If yes: patches + creates backup (~/.claude/settings.json.bak)

# Automated alternatives:
rtk init -g --auto-patch    # Patch without prompting
rtk init -g --no-patch      # Print manual instructions instead

# Verify installation
rtk init --show  # Check hook is installed and executable

Token savings: ~99.5% reduction (2000 tokens → 10 tokens in context)

What is settings.json? Claude Code's hook registry. RTK adds a PreToolUse hook that rewrites commands transparently. Without this, Claude won't invoke the hook automatically.

  Claude Code          settings.json        rtk-rewrite.sh        RTK binary
       │                    │                     │                    │
       │  "git status"      │                     │                    │
       │ ──────────────────►│                     │                    │
       │                    │  PreToolUse trigger  │                    │
       │                    │ ───────────────────►│                    │
       │                    │                     │  rewrite command   │
       │                    │                     │  → rtk git status  │
       │                    │◄────────────────────│                    │
       │                    │  updated command     │                    │
       │                    │                                          │
       │  execute: rtk git status                                      │
       │ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────►│
       │                                                               │  filter
       │  "3 modified, 1 untracked ✓"                                  │
       │◄──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│

Backup Safety: RTK backs up existing settings.json before changes. Restore if needed:

bash

cp ~/.claude/settings.json.bak ~/.claude/settings.json

Alternative: Local Project Setup

Best for: Single project without hook

bash

cd /path/to/your/project
rtk init  # Creates ./CLAUDE.md with full RTK instructions (137 lines)

Token savings: Instructions loaded only for this project

Upgrading from Previous Version

From old 137-line CLAUDE.md injection (pre-0.22)

bash

rtk init -g  # Automatically migrates to hook-first mode
# → Removes old 137-line block
# → Installs hook + RTK.md
# → Adds @RTK.md reference

From old hook with inline logic (pre-0.24) — ⚠️ Breaking Change

RTK 0.24.0 replaced the inline command-detection hook (~200 lines) with a thin delegator that calls rtk rewrite. The binary now contains the rewrite logic, so adding new commands no longer requires a hook update.

The old hook still works but won't benefit from new rules added in future releases.

bash

# Upgrade hook to thin delegator
rtk init --global

# Verify the new hook is active
rtk init --show
# Should show: ✅ Hook: ... (thin delegator, up to date)

Common User Flows

First-Time User (Recommended)

bash

# 1. Install RTK
cargo install --git https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk
rtk gain  # Verify (must show token stats)

# 2. Setup with prompts
rtk init -g
# → Answer 'y' when prompted to patch settings.json
# → Creates backup automatically

# 3. Restart Claude Code
# 4. Test: git status (should use rtk)

CI/CD or Automation

bash

# Non-interactive setup (no prompts)
rtk init -g --auto-patch

# Verify in scripts
rtk init --show | grep "Hook:"

Conservative User (Manual Control)

bash

# Get manual instructions without patching
rtk init -g --no-patch

# Review printed JSON snippet
# Manually edit ~/.claude/settings.json
# Restart Claude Code

Temporary Trial

bash

# Install hook
rtk init -g --auto-patch

# Later: remove everything
rtk init -g --uninstall

# Restore backup if needed
cp ~/.claude/settings.json.bak ~/.claude/settings.json

Installation Verification

bash

# Basic test
rtk ls .

# Test with git
rtk git status

# Test with pnpm
rtk pnpm list

# Test with Vitest
rtk vitest

Uninstalling

Complete Removal (Global Installations Only)

bash

# Complete removal (global installations only)
rtk init -g --uninstall

# What gets removed:
#   - Hook: ~/.claude/hooks/rtk-rewrite.sh
#   - Context: ~/.claude/RTK.md
#   - Reference: @RTK.md line from ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
#   - Registration: RTK hook entry from settings.json

# Restart Claude Code after uninstall

For Local Projects: Manually remove RTK block from ./CLAUDE.md

Binary Removal

bash

# If installed via cargo
cargo uninstall rtk

# If installed via package manager
brew uninstall rtk          # macOS Homebrew
sudo apt remove rtk         # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf remove rtk         # Fedora/RHEL

Restore from Backup (if needed)

bash

cp ~/.claude/settings.json.bak ~/.claude/settings.json

Essential Commands

Files

bash

rtk ls .              # Compact tree view
rtk read file.rs      # Optimized reading
rtk grep "pattern" .  # Grouped search results

Git

bash

rtk git status        # Compact status
rtk git log -n 10     # Condensed logs
rtk git diff          # Optimized diff
rtk git add .         # → "ok ✓"
rtk git commit -m "msg"  # → "ok ✓ abc1234"
rtk git push          # → "ok ✓ main"

Pnpm (fork only)

bash

rtk pnpm list         # Dependency tree (-70% tokens)
rtk pnpm outdated     # Available updates (-80-90%)
rtk pnpm install pkg  # Silent installation

Tests

bash

rtk cargo test      # Filtered Cargo test output (-90%)
rtk go test         # Filtered Go tests (NDJSON, -90%)
rtk jest            # Filtered Jest output (-99.6%)
rtk vitest          # Filtered Vitest output (-99.6%)
rtk playwright test # Filtered Playwright output (-94%)
rtk pytest          # Filtered Python tests (-90%)
rtk rake test       # Filtered Ruby tests (-90%)
rtk rspec           # Filtered RSpec tests (-60%)
rtk test <cmd>      # Generic test wrapper - failures only (-90%)

Statistics

bash

rtk gain              # Token savings
rtk gain --graph      # With ASCII graph
rtk gain --history    # With command history

Validated Token Savings

Production T3 Stack Project

Operation	Standard	RTK	Reduction
`vitest`	102,199 chars	377 chars	-99.6%
`git status`	529 chars	217 chars	-59%
`pnpm list`	~8,000 tokens	~2,400	-70%
`pnpm outdated`	~12,000 tokens	~1,200-2,400	-80-90%

Typical Claude Code Session (30 min)

Without RTK: ~150,000 tokens
With RTK: ~45,000 tokens
Savings: 70% reduction

Troubleshooting

RTK command not found after installation

bash

# Check PATH
echo $PATH | grep -o '[^:]*\.cargo[^:]*'

# Add to PATH if needed (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc)
export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"

# Reload shell
source ~/.bashrc  # or source ~/.zshrc

RTK command not available (e.g., vitest)

bash

# Check branch
cd /path/to/rtk
git branch

# Switch to feat/vitest-support if needed
git checkout feat/vitest-support

# Reinstall
cargo install --path . --force

Compilation error

bash

# Update Rust
rustup update stable

# Clean and recompile
cargo clean
cargo build --release
cargo install --path . --force

Support and Contributing

Website: https://www.rtk-ai.app
Contact: [email protected]
Troubleshooting: See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for common issues
GitHub issues: https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk/issues
Pull Requests: https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk/pulls

⚠️ If you installed the wrong rtk (Type Kit), see TROUBLESHOOTING.md

AI Assistant Checklist

Before each session:

Verify RTK is installed: rtk --version
If not installed → follow "Install from fork"
If project not initialized → rtk init
Use rtk for ALL git/pnpm/test/vitest commands
Check savings: rtk gain

Golden Rule: AI coding assistants should ALWAYS use rtk as a proxy for shell commands that generate verbose output (git, pnpm, npm, cargo test, vitest, docker, kubectl).