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Token Optimization (rtk)

rtk is a CLI proxy that compresses verbose command output by 60–90%. Use it aggressively for simple read-only verbose commands invoked via the runtime's shell-execute tool.

Before every shell call, classify the command as native-tool, rtk-safe, or raw-required:

  • native-tool: use the agent's built-in Read, Grep, Glob, LS tools instead of shell.
  • rtk-safe: simple read-only verbose command; prefix with rtk.
  • raw-required: mutating, interactive, exact-output-sensitive, or piped / chained command; run raw.

Always prefix with rtk

  • Git read-only: rtk git status, rtk git diff, rtk git log, rtk git show, rtk git branch
  • GitHub CLI read-only: rtk gh pr list, rtk gh pr view, rtk gh pr diff, rtk gh issue list, rtk gh run view
  • Containers / k8s read-only: rtk docker ps, rtk docker logs, rtk kubectl get, rtk kubectl describe, rtk kubectl logs, rtk kubectl top
  • Build / test / check: rtk cargo test, rtk cargo build, rtk npm test, rtk pnpm test, rtk pytest, rtk go test, rtk go build, rtk tsc, lint commands
  • Helm read / check: rtk helm template, rtk helm lint, rtk helm dependency build, rtk helm show values
  • Other read / check: rtk terraform plan, rtk gcx --agent ... -o json

Do NOT prefix with rtk

  • Mutating commands where exact output matters (git push, git commit).
  • Commands piped into other commands or shell substitution ($(...), |, non-cd && chains).
  • Interactive commands or ones that need a TTY.
  • Exact-output commands where summarized output would lose required details.
  • Commands already handled by native tools (Read, Grep, Glob, LS) — use the tool instead.

Fallback

If rtk <cmd> fails, retry once without the rtk prefix and proceed.

Hooked automation

The PreToolUse hook at core/hooks/factory-droid/rtk-autoprefix.py automatically inserts rtk for matching commands, preserving leading env= assignments and wrappers (sudo, time, nice). It bails out cleanly when rtk is not installed.

Why this matters

A 30-minute infra session can pump 100k+ tokens of kubectl describe, helm template, and git diff into context. rtk keeps the decision-relevant parts and drops boilerplate. The agent invokes commands normally; rtk rewrites the output before the model sees it.