rtk

rtk is an open-source command-line proxy designed to optimize interactions between AI coding agents and the terminal by reducing unnecessary token consumption. When AI assistants execute shell commands during software development tasks, the resulting terminal output often contains large amounts of repetitive or irrelevant information that can overwhelm the model’s context window. RTK intercepts these command outputs and compresses them into concise summaries before sending them to the language model. This process helps maintain important information while removing redundant data such as boilerplate logs, long directory listings, or repetitive test outputs. By minimizing the amount of noise sent to the AI model, the tool improves reasoning quality and allows longer development sessions within the same context window. The system is implemented as a lightweight Rust binary that runs locally and integrates easily with common AI coding environments.