Claude-code-ultimate-guide rtk-optimizer
Wrap high-verbosity shell commands with RTK to reduce token consumption. Use when running git log, git diff, cargo test, pytest, or other verbose CLI output that wastes context window tokens.
install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/FlorianBruniaux/claude-code-ultimate-guide
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/FlorianBruniaux/claude-code-ultimate-guide "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/examples/skills/rtk-optimizer" ~/.claude/skills/florianbruniaux-claude-code-ultimate-guide-rtk-optimizer && rm -rf "$T"
manifest:
examples/skills/rtk-optimizer/SKILL.mdsource content
RTK Optimizer Skill
Purpose: Automatically suggest RTK wrappers for high-verbosity commands to reduce token consumption.
How It Works
- Detect high-verbosity commands in user requests
- Suggest RTK wrapper if applicable
- Execute with RTK when user confirms
- Track savings over session
Supported Commands
Git (>70% reduction)
→git log
(92.3% reduction)rtk git log
→git status
(76.0% reduction)rtk git status
→find
(76.3% reduction)rtk find
Medium-Value (50-70% reduction)
→git diff
(55.9% reduction)rtk git diff
→cat <large-file>
(62.5% reduction)rtk read <file>
JS/TS Stack (70-90% reduction)
→pnpm list
(82% reduction)rtk pnpm list
/pnpm test
→vitest run
(90% reduction)rtk vitest run
Rust Toolchain (80-90% reduction)
→cargo test
(90% reduction)rtk cargo test
→cargo build
(80% reduction)rtk cargo build
→cargo clippy
(80% reduction)rtk cargo clippy
Python & Go (90% reduction)
→pytest
(90% reduction)rtk python pytest
→go test
(90% reduction)rtk go test
GitHub CLI (79-87% reduction)
→gh pr view
(87% reduction)rtk gh pr view
→gh pr checks
(79% reduction)rtk gh pr checks
File Operations
→ls
(condensed output)rtk ls
→grep
(filtered output)rtk grep
Activation Examples
User: "Show me the git history" Skill: Detects
git log → Suggests rtk git log → Explains 92.3% token savings
User: "Find all markdown files" Skill: Detects
find → Suggests rtk find "*.md" . → Explains 76.3% savings
Installation Check
Before first use, verify RTK is installed:
rtk --version # Should output: rtk 0.16.0+
If not installed:
# Homebrew (macOS/Linux) brew install rtk-ai/tap/rtk # Cargo (all platforms) cargo install rtk
Usage Pattern
# When user requests high-verbosity command: 1. Acknowledge request 2. Suggest RTK optimization: "I'll use `rtk git log` to reduce token usage by ~92%" 3. Execute RTK command 4. Track savings (optional): "Saved ~13K tokens (baseline: 14K, RTK: 1K)"
Session Tracking
Optional: Track cumulative savings across session:
# At session end rtk gain # Shows total token savings for session (SQLite-backed)
Edge Cases
- Small outputs (<100 chars): Skip RTK (overhead not worth it)
- Already using Claude tools: Grep/Read tools are already optimized
- Multiple commands: Batch with RTK wrapper once, not per command
Configuration
Enable via CLAUDE.md:
## Token Optimization Use RTK (Rust Token Killer) for high-verbosity commands: - git operations (log, status, diff) - package managers (pnpm, npm) - build tools (cargo, go) - test frameworks (vitest, pytest) - file finding and reading
Metrics (Verified)
Based on real-world testing:
: 13,994 chars → 1,076 chars (92.3% reduction)git log
: 100 chars → 24 chars (76.0% reduction)git status
: 780 chars → 185 chars (76.3% reduction)find
: 15,815 chars → 6,982 chars (55.9% reduction)git diff
: 163,587 chars → 61,339 chars (62.5% reduction)read file
Average: 72.6% token reduction
Limitations
- 446 stars on GitHub, actively maintained (30 releases in 23 days)
- Not suitable for interactive commands
- Rapid development cadence (check for breaking changes)
Recommendation
Use RTK for: git workflows, file operations, test frameworks, build tools, package managers Skip RTK for: small outputs, quick exploration, interactive commands
References
- RTK GitHub: https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk
- RTK Website: https://www.rtk-ai.app/
- Evaluation:
docs/resource-evaluations/rtk-evaluation.md - CLAUDE.md template:
examples/claude-md/rtk-optimized.md