How do I install the Rtk Token Optimization skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add concertonotes/rtk-token-optimization in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Rtk Token Optimization safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: makes network calls, reads secrets. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Rtk Token Optimization?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Rtk Token Optimization free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under Apache-2.

Who published Rtk Token Optimization?

ConcertoNotes (@concertonotes) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Rtk Token Optimization by concertonotes

Name: Rtk Token Optimization
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: ConcertoNotes

Rtk Token Optimization

High-performance CLI proxy that reduces LLM token consumption by 60-90%. Transparently rewrites 100+ common dev commands (git, gh, cargo, npm, docker, kubectl, aws, etc.) via PreToolUse hook. Single Rust binary, zero dependencies.

ConcertoNotes Updated Sep 8, 2026 0 repo stars

File contents

Purpose

Reduce LLM token consumption in Claude Code sessions by 60-90% without changing developer workflow. All Bash commands are transparently rewritten to their rtk equivalents via a PreToolUse hook.

How It Works

Without rtk:                              With rtk:
Claude --git status--> shell --> git      Claude --git status--> RTK --> git
  ^        ~2,000 tokens (raw)    |        ^    ~200 tokens     |       |
  +-------------------------------+        +---- (filtered) ----+-------+

Four strategies applied per command type:

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

Supported Commands

Category	Commands	Typical Savings
Files	ls, read, find, grep, diff	70-80%
Git	status, diff, log, add, commit, push	75-92%
GitHub CLI	pr list, issue list, run list	80%
Test Runners	cargo test, npm test, pytest, go test, vitest, playwright	90%
Build & Lint	cargo build, tsc, next build, eslint, ruff, clippy	80-85%
Package Managers	pnpm list, pip list, bundle install	80%
Containers	docker ps/logs, kubectl pods/logs	80%
AWS	sts, ec2, lambda, logs, s3, cloudformation	80%
Data	json, env, log, curl, wget	70-80%

Token Savings (30-min Session Estimate)

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%
cargo test / npm test	5x	25,000	2,500	-90%
Total		~118,000	~23,900	-80%

Usage

After installation, rtk works automatically via the PreToolUse hook. No manual changes needed.

Analytics Commands

rtk gain                # Summary stats
rtk gain --graph        # ASCII graph (last 30 days)
rtk gain --daily        # Day-by-day breakdown
rtk discover            # Find missed savings opportunities
rtk session             # Show RTK adoption across recent sessions

Manual Usage

rtk git status          # Compact git status
rtk read file.rs        # Smart file reading
rtk test cargo test     # Show failures only
rtk lint                # ESLint grouped by rule/file
rtk docker ps           # Compact container list

Prerequisites

rtk binary: brew install rtk or curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rtk-ai/rtk/refs/heads/master/install.sh | sh
jq: required by the hook script

Integration

Hook: hooks/rtk-rewrite.sh (PreToolUse:Bash, last in chain)
Config: ~/.config/rtk/config.toml for customization
Tee recovery: failed command full output saved to ~/.local/share/rtk/tee/

References

---name: rtk-token-optimizationdescription: High-performance CLI proxy that reduces LLM token consumption by 60-90%. Transparently rewrites 100+ common dev commands (git, gh, cargo, npm, docker, kubectl, aws, etc.) via PreToolUse hook. Single Rust binary, zero dependencies.license: Apache-2.0---## PurposeReduce LLM token consumption in Claude Code sessions by 60-90% without changing developer workflow.All Bash commands are transparently rewritten to their `rtk` equivalents via a PreToolUse hook.## How It Works```Without rtk: With rtk:Claude --git status--> shell --> git Claude --git status--> RTK --> git ^ ~2,000 tokens (raw) | ^ ~200 tokens | | +-------------------------------+ +---- (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 redundancy4. **Deduplication** - Collapses repeated log lines with counts## Supported Commands| Category | Commands | Typical Savings ||----------|----------|----------------|| Files | ls, read, find, grep, diff | 70-80% || Git | status, diff, log, add, commit, push | 75-92% || GitHub CLI | pr list, issue list, run list | 80% || Test Runners | cargo test, npm test, pytest, go test, vitest, playwright | 90% || Build & Lint | cargo build, tsc, next build, eslint, ruff, clippy | 80-85% || Package Managers | pnpm list, pip list, bundle install | 80% || Containers | docker ps/logs, kubectl pods/logs | 80% || AWS | sts, ec2, lambda, logs, s3, cloudformation | 80% || Data | json, env, log, curl, wget | 70-80% |## Token Savings (30-min Session Estimate)| 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% || cargo test / npm test | 5x | 25,000 | 2,500 | -90% || **Total** | | **~118,000** | **~23,900** | **-80%** |## UsageAfter installation, rtk works automatically via the PreToolUse hook. No manual changes needed.### Analytics Commands```bashrtk gain # Summary statsrtk gain --graph # ASCII graph (last 30 days)rtk gain --daily # Day-by-day breakdownrtk discover # Find missed savings opportunitiesrtk session # Show RTK adoption across recent sessions```### Manual Usage```bashrtk git status # Compact git statusrtk read file.rs # Smart file readingrtk test cargo test # Show failures onlyrtk lint # ESLint grouped by rule/filertk docker ps # Compact container list```## Prerequisites- `rtk` binary: `brew install rtk` or `curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rtk-ai/rtk/refs/heads/master/install.sh | sh`- `jq`: required by the hook script## Integration- Hook: `hooks/rtk-rewrite.sh` (PreToolUse:Bash, last in chain)- Config: `~/.config/rtk/config.toml` for customization- Tee recovery: failed command full output saved to `~/.local/share/rtk/tee/`## References- [rtk GitHub](https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk)- [rtk Website](https://www.rtk-ai.app)- [Troubleshooting](https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk/blob/master/docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md)

Frequently asked questions