rtk-ai/rtk

"rtk init --global" breaks symlink

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#653 opened on Mar 17, 2026

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 (3 comments) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)Rust (48,085 stars) (2,914 forks)batch import
bugeffort-smallgood first issue

Description

I share settings.json across multiple devices, but this command turned my symlink into a regular file.

I consider this a serious issue.

Another problem is that settings.json shouldn't contain absolute paths, and the patch content also includes absolute paths, making it impossible to share across multiple machines. I refactored them to relative paths.

As for why rtk.md is injected into CLAUDE.md, another issue already asked about it, so I won't ask here.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
rust
Domain
clitooling
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.
active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
basic Rustunderstanding of symlinks
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
65
Research direction
Investigate the `rtk init global` command implementation in the source code (likely in src/main.rs or a dedicated module). The bug occurs when the target `settings.json` is a symlink; the command replaces it with a regular file. Additionally, the command writes absolute paths into the file and patches. Need to fix file I/O to preserve symlinks (e.g., use `std::fs::read link` and write to the symlink target) and refactor all path references to be relative. Also review the injection of rtk.md into CLAUDE.md; this might be related to another issue (like #652). Look for maintainer comments in the issue thread for guidance.