rtk-ai/rtk

git log --format placeholders mangled by rtk proxy

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#1058 opened on Apr 6, 2026

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bugeffort-smallfilter-qualitygood first issue

Description

Bug Description

When running git log with --format or --pretty=format containing date placeholders like %Y%m%d, rtk's proxy mangles the output. The format string is not passed through correctly to git.

Steps to Reproduce

# Direct git (expected: 20260119)
/opt/homebrew/bin/git -C /some/repo log -1 --pretty=format:'%cd' --date=format:'%Y%m%d'
# Output: 20260119 ✅

# Via rtk (mangled)
git log -1 --format='%Y%m%d'
# Output: %Y> (HEAD, branch-name, ...) ❌

Expected Behavior

Format placeholders should be passed through to git unchanged. --format='%Y%m%d' and --pretty=format:'%cd' --date=format:'%Y%m%d' should produce the same output as calling git directly.

Workaround

Using --pretty=format:'%cd' --date=format:'%Y%m%d' works correctly through rtk. Only --format with certain placeholders is affected.

Environment

  • rtk version: 0.34.3
  • OS: macOS (Darwin 25.4.0, arm64)
  • Shell: zsh

Contributor guide

Tech stack
rust
Domain
cli
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Basic Rust knowledgeUnderstanding of CLI argument parsing
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
75
Research direction
Investigate how rtk passes arguments to git, particularly the ` format` flag. The bug is that ` format='%Y%m%d'` gets mangled while ` pretty=format:'%Y%m%d'` works. Look at the argument parsing logic in the Rust source code (likely `src/args.rs` or `src/proxy.rs`) to see how the format string is processed. Check if the format string is being split on spaces or misinterpreted. Review any existing tests for git command forwarding.