rtk-ai/rtk

rtk fails to handle --pcre2 flag when agent tries to use rg

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#1651 opened on Apr 30, 2026

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bugeffort-smallfilter-qualitygood first issue

Description

$ rtk grep -n --pcre2 "e2e-tests(?!-v2)"
/usr/bin/grep: unrecognized option '--pcre2'
Usage: grep [OPTION]... PATTERNS [FILE]...
Try 'grep --help' for more information.

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
Rust basicsunderstanding of CLI flag parsing
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40
Research direction
Investigate how rtk determines whether to use grep or ripgrep (rg). Look for where the pcre2 flag is passed and ensure it is only forwarded to rg. Check the grep/ripgrep detection logic and flag filtering in the agent module. Consider adding a flag mapping or stripping unknown flags for grep.