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rtk

Free

CLI proxy that reduces LLM token consumption by 60-90% on common dev commands. Single Rust binary, zero dependencies

Coding AssistantsFreeFree tier
#rtk#cli#token-reduction#llm#rust#developer-tools#terminal#productivity#ai-coding#context-window
Type
Open Source
rtk screenshot

About rtk

RTK (Rust Token Killer) is a high-performance CLI proxy written in Rust that intercepts command outputs before they reach your LLM's context window. It intelligently filters, groups, truncates, and deduplicates terminal output, reducing token consumption by 60–90% on common developer commands. This leads to longer AI sessions (up to 3x), improved reasoning performance, and significant cost savings—especially on pay-per-token services. RTK integrates seamlessly with popular AI coding tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, Aider, Gemini CLI, OpenAI Codex, Cline, Windsurf, and GitHub Copilot. It is free, open source (Apache 2.0), and installable via Homebrew, Cargo, or a quick script. The single Rust binary has less than 10ms overhead and supports over 30 commands out of the box.

Key Features

High-performance CLI proxy
60-90% token consumption reduction
Single Rust binary
Supports 100+ commands
Less than 10ms overhead
Smart filtering of command outputs
Grouping of similar items
Truncation of redundant context
Deduplication of repeated log lines
Transparent auto-rewrite hook for Bash

Pros & Cons

Pros
  • Significant token savings (60-90%) measured across thousands of real-world commands
  • Works with major AI coding tools out of the box
  • Free, open source, and easy to install
  • Minimal performance overhead (<10ms) and no dependency on other languages
  • Transparently hooks into existing shell workflows without changing user habits
  • Provides detailed savings analytics per command
Cons
  • Only reduces tokens for CLI command outputs, not for other types of LLM input (e.g., documentation or chat)
  • Requires shell integration (auto-rewrite hook) which may not function in all terminal environments or CI systems

Best For

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