rtk-ai__rtk/docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md

RTK Troubleshooting Guide

Problem: "rtk gain" command not found

Symptom

$ rtk --version
rtk 1.0.0  # (or similar)

$ rtk gain
rtk: 'gain' is not a rtk command. See 'rtk --help'.

Root Cause

You installed the wrong rtk package. You have Rust Type Kit (reachingforthejack/rtk) instead of Rust Token Killer (rtk-ai/rtk).

Solution

1. Uninstall the wrong package:

cargo uninstall rtk

2. Install the correct one (Token Killer):

Quick Install (Linux/macOS)

curl -fsSL https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk/blob/master/install.sh | sh

Alternative: Manual Installation

cargo install --git https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk

3. Verify installation:

rtk --version
rtk gain  # MUST show token savings stats, not error

If rtk gain now works, installation is correct.

---

Problem: Confusion Between Two "rtk" Projects

The Two Projects

Project	Repository	Purpose	Key Command
Rust Token Killer ✅	rtk-ai/rtk	LLM token optimizer for Claude Code	rtk gain
Rust Type Kit ❌	reachingforthejack/rtk	Rust codebase query and type generator	rtk query

How to Identify Which One You Have

# Check if "gain" command exists
rtk gain

# Token Killer → Shows token savings stats
# Type Kit → Error: "gain is not a rtk command"

---

Problem: cargo install rtk installs wrong package

Why This Happens

If Rust Type Kit is published to crates.io under the name rtk, running cargo install rtk will install the wrong package.

Solution

NEVER use cargo install rtk without verifying.

Always use explicit repository URLs:

# CORRECT - Token Killer
cargo install --git https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk

# OR install from fork
git clone https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk.git
cd rtk && git checkout feat/all-features
cargo install --path . --force

After any installation, ALWAYS verify:

rtk gain  # Must work if you want Token Killer

---

Problem: RTK not working in Claude Code

Symptom

Claude Code doesn't seem to be using rtk, outputs are verbose.

Checklist

1. Verify rtk is installed and correct:

rtk --version
rtk gain  # Must show stats

2. Initialize rtk for Claude Code:

# Global (all projects)
rtk init --global

# Per-project
cd /your/project
rtk init

3. Verify CLAUDE.md file exists:

# Check global
cat ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md | grep rtk

# Check project
cat ./CLAUDE.md | grep rtk

4. Install auto-rewrite hook (recommended for automatic RTK usage):

Option A: Automatic (recommended)

rtk init -g
# → Installs hook + RTK.md automatically
# → Follow printed instructions to add hook to ~/.claude/settings.json
# → Restart Claude Code

# Verify installation
rtk init --show  # Should show "✅ Hook: executable, with guards"

Option B: Manual (fallback)

# Copy hook to Claude Code hooks directory
mkdir -p ~/.claude/hooks
cp .claude/hooks/rtk-rewrite.sh ~/.claude/hooks/
chmod +x ~/.claude/hooks/rtk-rewrite.sh

Then add to ~/.claude/settings.json (replace ~ with full path):

{
  "hooks": {
    "PreToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Bash",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "/Users/yourname/.claude/hooks/rtk-rewrite.sh"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Note: Use absolute path in settings.json, not ~/.claude/...

---

Problem: RTK not working in OpenCode

Symptom

OpenCode runs commands without rtk, outputs are verbose.

Checklist

1. Verify rtk is installed and correct:

rtk --version
rtk gain  # Must show stats

2. Install the OpenCode plugin (global only):

rtk init -g --opencode

3. Verify plugin file exists:

ls -la ~/.config/opencode/plugins/rtk.ts

4. Restart OpenCode OpenCode must be restarted to load the plugin.

5. Verify status:

rtk init --show  # Should show "OpenCode: plugin installed"

---

Problem: RTK commands fail on Windows ("program not found" or "No such file")

Symptom

rtk vitest --run
# Error: program not found
# Or: The system cannot find the file specified

rtk lint .
# Error: No such file or directory

Root Cause

On Windows, Node.js tools (vitest, eslint, tsc, etc.) are installed as .CMD or .BAT wrapper scripts, not as native .exe binaries. Rust's std::process::Command::new("vitest") does not honor the Windows PATHEXT environment variable, so it cannot find vitest.CMD even when it's on PATH.

Solution

Update to rtk v0.23.1+ which resolves this via the which crate for proper PATH+PATHEXT resolution. All 16+ command modules now use resolved_command() instead of Command::new().

cargo install --git https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk
rtk --version  # Should be 0.23.1+

Affected Commands

All commands that spawn external tools: rtk vitest, rtk lint, rtk tsc, rtk pnpm, rtk playwright, rtk prisma, rtk next, rtk prettier, rtk ruff, rtk pytest, rtk pip, rtk mypy, rtk golangci-lint, and others.

---

Problem: "command not found: rtk" after installation

Symptom

$ cargo install --path . --force
   Compiling rtk v0.7.1
    Finished release [optimized] target(s)
  Installing ~/.cargo/bin/rtk

$ rtk --version
zsh: command not found: rtk

Root Cause

~/.cargo/bin is not in your PATH.

Solution

1. Check if cargo bin is in PATH:

echo $PATH | grep -o '[^:]*\.cargo[^:]*'

2. If not found, add to PATH:

For bash (~/.bashrc):

export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"

For zsh (~/.zshrc):

export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"

For fish (~/.config/fish/config.fish):

set -gx PATH $HOME/.cargo/bin $PATH

3. Reload shell config:

source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc or restart terminal

4. Verify:

which rtk
rtk --version
rtk gain

---

Problem: Compilation errors during installation

Symptom

$ cargo install --path .
error: failed to compile rtk v0.7.1

Solutions

1. Update Rust toolchain:

rustup update stable
rustup default stable

2. Clean and rebuild:

cargo clean
cargo build --release
cargo install --path . --force

3. Check Rust version (minimum required):

rustc --version  # Should be 1.70+ for most features

4. If still fails, report issue:

• GitHub: https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk/issues

---

Need More Help?

Report issues:

• Fork-specific: https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk/issues
• Upstream: https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk/issues

Run the diagnostic script:

# From the rtk repository root
bash scripts/check-installation.sh

This script will check:

• ✅ RTK installed and in PATH
• ✅ Correct version (Token Killer, not Type Kit)
• ✅ Available features (pnpm, vitest, next, etc.)
• ✅ Claude Code integration (CLAUDE.md files)
• ✅ Auto-rewrite hook status

The script provides specific fix commands for any issues found.