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Overview

RTK supports global flags that work with all commands. These flags must appear before the subcommand.

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Syntax

rtk [GLOBAL_FLAGS] <COMMAND> [ARGS...]

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Global Flags

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Verbosity

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-v, -vv, -vvv
flag
Increase verbosity level:
  • -v - Basic diagnostics (command routing, token counts)
  • -vv - Detailed processing (filter steps, regex matches)
  • -vvv - Full debug (all internal state)
Use when:
  • Debugging RTK behavior
  • Understanding token savings
  • Reporting issues

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Ultra-Compact Mode

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-u, --ultra-compact
flag
Enable Level 2 optimizations:
  • ASCII icons instead of emoji (📊 → [i])
  • Inline format (no extra spacing)
  • Maximum density output
Use when:
  • Every token counts
  • Non-emoji terminal
  • Piping to other tools

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Skip Environment Validation

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--skip-env
flag
Set SKIP_ENV_VALIDATION=1 for child processes.Affects:
  • rtk next - Next.js builds
  • rtk tsc - TypeScript compiler
  • rtk lint - Linters
  • rtk prisma - Prisma CLI
Use when:
  • Environment validation is too strict
  • Local dev setup differs from production
  • CI/CD environment issues

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Flag Placement

Global flags must come before the subcommand: 
# ✅ Correct
rtk -v git status
rtk -vv --ultra-compact cargo test
rtk --skip-env next build

# ❌ Wrong
rtk git status -v        # -v ignored (passed to git)
rtk cargo test -vv       # -vv ignored (passed to cargo)

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Verbosity Examples

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Level 1 (-v)

Basic diagnostics: 
rtk -v git status
Output: 
Git status output:
📌 main...origin/main
✅ Staged: 2 files
...

Chars: 1234 → 456 (63% reduction)

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Level 2 (-vv)

Detailed processing: 
rtk -vv grep "TODO" src
Output: 
grep: 'TODO' in src
Detected language: Unknown (stdin has no extension)
Lines: 1234 -> 567 (54.0% reduction)
🔍 12 in 3F:
...

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Level 3 (-vvv)

Full debug (includes internal state, regex matches, etc.): 
rtk -vvv read main.rs
Output: 
Reading: src/main.rs (filter: minimal)
Detected language: Rust
Filter: MinimalFilter
Lines: 500 -> 280 (44.0% reduction)
Tokens: original=2000, filtered=1120
...

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Ultra-Compact Examples

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Normal Output

rtk gain

RTK Token Savings (Global Scope)
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Total commands:    1,234
Input tokens:      2.5M
Output tokens:     450K
Tokens saved:      2.05M (82.0%)
Efficiency meter: ████████████████████░░░░ 82.0%

📊 By Command

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Ultra-Compact Output

rtk -u gain

RTK Token Savings (Global)
Cmds:1234 In:2.5M Out:450K Saved:2.05M (82%)
[By Command]

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Skip-Env Flag

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Problem: Next.js Env Validation

rtk next build
Error: 
Error: Missing required environment variables:
  - DATABASE_URL
  - NEXTAUTH_SECRET

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Solution: Skip Validation

rtk --skip-env next build
Success: 
✅ Next.js build complete
   Routes: 12
   Bundles: 450KB (gzip)

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How It Works

Sets SKIP_ENV_VALIDATION=1 before running:
  • Next.js (next build, next dev)
  • TypeScript (tsc)
  • Linters (eslint, etc.)
  • Prisma (prisma generate, etc.)

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Combining Flags

# Multiple flags
rtk -vv -u --skip-env next build

# Short form
rtk -vvu --skip-env cargo test

# Long form
rtk --ultra-compact --skip-env tsc --noEmit

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Flag Interaction with Subcommands

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Git Flags

# ✅ Global flags before 'git'
rtk -v git -C /path/to/repo status

# ❌ Wrong order
rtk git -v -C /path/to/repo status  # -v passed to git

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Grep Flags

# ✅ Global flags before 'grep'
rtk -vv grep -i "error" logs/

# ❌ Wrong order
rtk grep -vv -i "error" logs/  # -vv passed to ripgrep

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When to Use Each Flag

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Verbosity (-v, -vv, -vvv)

Use -v when:
  • Verifying RTK is actually reducing tokens
  • Checking filter behavior
  • Confirming command routing
Use -vv when:
  • Debugging filter logic
  • Understanding why something was filtered out
  • Tuning filter parameters
Use -vvv when:
  • Reporting bugs
  • Contributing to RTK
  • Deep debugging

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Ultra-Compact (-u)

Use when:
  • Every token is critical (large outputs)
  • Terminal doesn’t support emoji
  • Piping output to other tools
  • CI/CD logs (parseable format)
Don’t use when:
  • Human readability matters
  • Emoji provide useful visual cues
  • Output is already minimal

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Skip-Env (--skip-env)

Use when:
  • Environment validation blocks builds
  • Local dev environment differs from prod
  • CI/CD has incomplete env vars
  • Testing with partial configuration
Don’t use when:
  • Env validation catches real issues
  • Production builds (always validate)
  • You can fix the env vars properly
rtk -vv git diff
# See what RTK is filtering

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Exit Codes

Global flags don’t affect exit codes - they’re always passed through from the underlying command.
  • All RTK commands support global flags
  • See command-specific docs for subcommand flags