Global Flags

Overview

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

Syntax

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

Verbosity

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

Ultra-Compact Mode

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

Skip Environment Validation

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

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)

Verbosity Examples

Level 1 (`-v`)

Basic diagnostics:

rtk -v git status

Output:

Git status output:
📌 main...origin/main
✅ Staged: 2 files
...

Chars: 1234 → 456 (63% reduction)

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:
...

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
...

Ultra-Compact Examples

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

Ultra-Compact Output

rtk -u gain

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

Skip-Env Flag

Problem: Next.js Env Validation

rtk next build

Error:

Error: Missing required environment variables:
  - DATABASE_URL
  - NEXTAUTH_SECRET

Solution: Skip Validation

rtk --skip-env next build

Success:

✅ Next.js build complete
   Routes: 12
   Bundles: 450KB (gzip)

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.)

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

Flag Interaction with Subcommands

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

Grep Flags

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

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

When to Use Each Flag

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

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

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

rtk -u cargo test
# ASCII icons, inline format

rtk --skip-env next build
# Bypass Next.js env checks

rtk -vvv -u --skip-env tsc
# Full debug + ultra-compact + skip env

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

​Overview

​Syntax

​Global Flags

​Verbosity

​Ultra-Compact Mode

​Skip Environment Validation

​Flag Placement

​Verbosity Examples

​Level 1 (-v)

​Level 2 (-vv)

​Level 3 (-vvv)

​Ultra-Compact Examples

​Normal Output

​Ultra-Compact Output

​Skip-Env Flag

​Problem: Next.js Env Validation

​Solution: Skip Validation

​How It Works

​Combining Flags

​Flag Interaction with Subcommands

​Git Flags

​Grep Flags

​When to Use Each Flag

​Verbosity (-v, -vv, -vvv)

​Ultra-Compact (-u)

​Skip-Env (--skip-env)

​Exit Codes

​Related Commands

Overview

Syntax

Global Flags

Verbosity

Ultra-Compact Mode

Skip Environment Validation

Flag Placement

Verbosity Examples

Level 1 (`-v`)

Level 2 (`-vv`)

Level 3 (`-vvv`)

Ultra-Compact Examples

Normal Output

Ultra-Compact Output

Skip-Env Flag

Problem: Next.js Env Validation

Solution: Skip Validation

How It Works

Combining Flags

Flag Interaction with Subcommands

Git Flags

Grep Flags

When to Use Each Flag

Verbosity (`-v, -vv, -vvv`)

Ultra-Compact (`-u`)

Skip-Env (`--skip-env`)

Exit Codes

Related Commands