rtk-ai/rtk

bug: "rtk init -g --agent cursor" errors due to expecting $HOME/.claude

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#1465 opened on Apr 22, 2026

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P1-criticalbugeffort-smallgood first issue

Description

Using the latest version, v0.37.2, on WSL2 (ubuntu), I receive the following error during initial setup:

$ rtk init -g --agent cursor
rtk: Failed to write RTK.md: /home/liam/.claude/RTK.md: Failed to create temp file in /home/liam/.claude: No such file or directory (os error 2) at path "/home/liam/.claude/.tmpznCCwz"

I suspect that --agent cursor still tries to setup Claude and Copilot, but because I don't use either on this device, it errors out. I would expect:

  1. --agent cursor to only install for Cursor.
  2. If claude was used, but the directory didn't exist, create it first, and/or skip over it if the primary agent target isn't claude.

I am able to get around this by manually creating that directory, and re-running, but this still initializes files and pollutes my home directory unnecessarily, which should be avoided.

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 RustUnderstanding of CLI toolsFile system permissions
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
65
Research direction
Examine the init command logic in the rtk source code, likely in src/commands/init.rs or similar. The issue is that when agent cursor is used, the code attempts to write to $HOME/.claude/ regardless. The fix should ensure the target directory exists (create if missing) and/or skip agent specific paths not relevant to the selected agent. Check if there are existing functions for directory creation and how other agents (e.g., Claude, Copilot) handle directory presence. Also review the error handling to avoid failing entirely when a directory doesn't exist.