> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/rtk-ai/rtk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> Reduce LLM token consumption by 60-90% with RTK, a high-performance CLI proxy for AI coding assistants

# RTK - Rust Token Killer

RTK is a high-performance CLI tool written in Rust that dramatically reduces LLM token consumption by filtering and compressing command outputs before they reach your AI coding assistant's context.

> [!NOTE]
>
> **Token Savings:** RTK achieves **60-90% reduction** in tokens on common development operations.
>
> A typical 30-minute Claude Code session goes from **\~150,000 tokens** down to **\~45,000 tokens** - a **70% reduction**.

## Why RTK Matters

AI coding assistants like Claude Code, Cursor, and Copilot consume massive amounts of tokens when reading command outputs. Every `git status`, `npm test`, or `ls -la` sends verbose output into the LLM context - wasting tokens, hitting rate limits, and slowing down your workflow.

RTK sits between your AI assistant and the shell, intelligently filtering outputs to preserve only what matters:

```
Without RTK:
  ┌──────────┐  git status     ┌──────────┐  git status  ┌──────────┐
  │  Claude  │ ─────────────── │  shell   │ ──────────── │   git    │
  │   LLM    │                 │          │              │  (CLI)   │
  └──────────┘                 └──────────┘              └──────────┘
        ▲                                                      │
        │              ~2,000 tokens (raw output)              │
        └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

With RTK:
  ┌──────────┐  git status     ┌──────────┐  git status  ┌──────────┐
  │  Claude  │ ─────────────── │   RTK    │ ──────────── │   git    │
  │   LLM    │                 │  (proxy) │              │  (CLI)   │
  └──────────┘                 └──────────┘              └──────────┘
        ▲                           │  ~2,000 tokens raw       │
        │                           └──────────────────────────┘
        │  ~200 tokens (filtered)   filter · group · dedup · truncate
        └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
```

## Key Benefits

> **Massive Token Savings**
>
> Save 60-90% of tokens on common operations like `git log`, `cargo test`, `npm install`.

> **Zero Workflow Changes**
>
> Install once with hooks, and all commands are automatically optimized - no manual prefixing needed.

> **Lightning Fast**
>
> Written in Rust with \<10ms startup time. No performance overhead in your development workflow.

> **Analytics Built-In**
>
> Track your savings with `rtk gain` - see exactly how many tokens you've saved over time.

## Token Savings Examples (30-min Session)

Here's what RTK saves you in a typical Claude Code coding session:

| Operation | Frequency | Standard | RTK | Savings |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| `ls` / `tree` | 10× | 2,000 | 400 | **-80%** |
| `cat` / `read` | 20× | 40,000 | 12,000 | **-70%** |
| `grep` / `rg` | 8× | 16,000 | 3,200 | **-80%** |
| `git status` | 10× | 3,000 | 600 | **-80%** |
| `git diff` | 5× | 10,000 | 2,500 | **-75%** |
| `git log` | 5× | 2,500 | 500 | **-80%** |
| `npm test` | 5× | 25,000 | 2,500 | **-90%** |
| `docker ps` | 3× | 900 | 180 | **-80%** |
| **Total** | | **\~99,400** | **\~22,880** | **-77%** |

> [!WARNING]
>
> **Name Collision Alert:** There are TWO different projects named "rtk":
>
> 1. ✅ **Rust Token Killer** (this project) - LLM token optimizer from `rtk-ai/rtk`
> 2. ❌ **Rust Type Kit** (reachingforthejack/rtk) - DIFFERENT PROJECT
>
> Verify you have the correct one:
>
> ```bash theme={null}
> rtk --version   # Should show "rtk 0.24.0" or higher
> rtk gain        # Should show token savings stats
> ```
>
> If `rtk gain` doesn't work, you installed the wrong package.

## How It Works

RTK applies four intelligent strategies based on command type:

**1. Smart Filtering**

Removes noise like comments, whitespace, boilerplate progress bars, and redundant metadata.

**2. Grouping**

Aggregates similar items - files by directory, errors by type, commits by author.

**3. Truncation**

Keeps relevant context, cuts redundancy. Show first/last 10 lines instead of 1000.

**4. Deduplication**

Collapses repeated log lines with counts: `Error: timeout (×347)` instead of 347 lines.

### Real-World Example

**Standard git push output (15 lines, \~200 tokens):**

```bash theme={null}
$ git push
Enumerating objects: 5, done.
Counting objects: 100% (5/5), done.
Delta compression using up to 8 threads
Compressing objects: 100% (3/3), done.
Writing objects: 100% (3/3), 342 bytes | 342.00 KiB/s, done.
Total 3 (delta 2), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (2/2), completed with 2 local objects.
To github.com:user/repo.git
   abc1234..def5678  main -> main
```

**RTK git push output (1 line, \~10 tokens - 95% reduction):**

```bash theme={null}
$ rtk git push
ok ✓ main
```

## Use Cases

> **AI Coding Sessions**
>
> Maximize your Claude Code, Cursor, or Copilot rate limits by sending 70% fewer tokens.

> **Monorepo Development**
>
> Work in large codebases without overwhelming your LLM with verbose `ls`, `tree`, or `find` outputs.

> **Test-Driven Development**
>
> See only test failures, not the 200+ lines of passing test noise. Works with `cargo test`, `npm test`, `pytest`, `go test`.

> **Git-Heavy Workflows**
>
> Condense `git log`, `git diff`, `git status` into compact summaries that preserve all critical info.

## Supported Commands

RTK optimizes 50+ commands across multiple ecosystems:

### Git Operations

`git status`, `git diff`, `git log`, `git add`, `git commit`, `git push`, `git pull`, `git branch`, `git fetch`, `git stash`

### Test Runners

`cargo test`, `npm test`, `pytest`, `go test`, `vitest`, `playwright test`

### Package Managers

`npm install`, `pnpm list`, `pip install`, `cargo build`

### Linters & Type Checkers

`eslint`, `ruff check`, `tsc`, `mypy`, `golangci-lint`, `cargo clippy`

### Containers

`docker ps`, `docker logs`, `kubectl get pods`, `kubectl logs`

### And More

`ls`, `tree`, `grep`, `cat`, `curl`, `wget`, `gh pr list`, `prisma migrate`, `next build`

[View full command reference →](/commands/overview)

## Next Steps

> **[Install RTK](/installation)**
>
> Get RTK installed in under 5 minutes with Homebrew, cargo, or pre-built binaries.

> **[Quick Start](/quickstart)**
>
> Follow our 5-minute guide to install, verify, and start saving tokens immediately.


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