rtk-ai/rtk

[BUG] rtk ls always reports 0B file size on Windows

Open

#1084 opened on Apr 8, 2026

View on GitHub
 (1 comment) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)Rust (48,085 stars) (2,914 forks)batch import
bugeffort-smallfilter-qualitygood first issue

Description

Description

The rtk ls command fails to report the correct file size on Windows environments, consistently returning 0B regardless of the actual file size. This is potentially dangerous as AI agents might conclude a file is empty and overwrite its content.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Create a file with content (e.g., a markdown file with text).
  2. Run rtk ls [filename]
  3. Compare with standard ls -l or rtk stat [filename]

Actual Behavior

rtk ls reports 0B. Example:

$ rtk ls "projects.json"
Apr 6 15:16 C:/Users/WBPC.VN/.gemini/projects.json  0B

Expected Behavior

rtk ls should report the actual file size. Example of correct data retrieved via rtk stat:

$ rtk stat "projects.json"
Size: 59    Blocks: 1    regular file

Environment

  • OS: Windows 11
  • Shell: Git Bash
  • RTK Version: 0.35.0

Impact

Critical. Automated AI agents using RTK for file system analysis may inadvertently delete or overwrite data thinking the files are empty.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
rustshell
Domain
clibackend
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.
half day
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
Rustfile system APIsWindows development environment
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
45
Research direction
Investigate the implementation of `rtk ls` in the source code (likely around `src/commands/ls.rs`). Compare how `rtk ls` retrieves file size versus `rtk stat`, which works correctly. Focus on the platform specific behavior on Windows: Rust's `std::fs::Metadata` might return incorrect `len()` for directories or symlinks; ensure the code uses proper Windows API calls or checks file type. Check if there is any caching or buffering issue. Consider testing on Windows via CI or manual build to reproduce.