rtk-ai/rtk

kubectl rewrite misses --context flag, exec subcommand, and variable assignments

Open

#927 opened on Mar 30, 2026

View on GitHub
 (1 comment) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)Rust (2,914 forks)batch import
area:clibugeffort-mediumfilter-qualityhelp wantedpriority:high

Repository metrics

Stars
 (48,085 stars)
PR merge metrics
 (Avg merge 11d 1h) (45 merged PRs in 30d)

Description

Problem

rtk discover shows ~1,300 kubectl commands not being rewritten despite kubectl being a supported proxy. The issue is that rtk rewrite only handles the simplest form (kubectl <subcommand> ...) but misses common real-world patterns.

Patterns not rewritten

Pattern Example Expected
Flags before subcommand kubectl --context msquant-test get pods -n test rtk kubectl --context msquant-test get pods -n test
kubectl exec kubectl exec -n test pod-0 -- psql rtk kubectl exec -n test pod-0 -- psql
Variable assignment wrapper REDIS_POD=$(kubectl get pods -n test -l app=redis -o name) REDIS_POD=$(rtk kubectl get pods ...)
Line continuation \kubectl --kubeconfig ... rtk kubectl --kubeconfig ...

Reproduction

$ rtk rewrite 'kubectl get pods -n test'
rtk kubectl get pods -n test          # ✅ works

$ rtk rewrite 'kubectl --context msquant-test get pods -n test'
# exit 1, no output                   # ❌ missed

$ rtk rewrite 'kubectl exec -n test msquant-postgresql-0 -- psql'
# exit 1, no output                   # ❌ missed

$ rtk rewrite 'REDIS_POD=$(kubectl get pods -n test -l app=redis -o name)'
# exit 1, no output                   # ❌ missed

Environment

  • rtk 0.30.1
  • macOS (Darwin 23.5.0)
  • Hook: rtk-rewrite.sh (hook v2)

Impact

~1,300 kubectl commands over 30 days not getting token savings. kubectl output (pod lists, describe, logs) is often very verbose — high savings potential.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Inspect the `rtk rewrite` command parser in the codebase, specifically how it matches kubectl patterns. Look for the regex or parsing logic that currently only handles `kubectl <subcommand> ...` and extend it to handle flags before subcommand, `kubectl exec`, variable assignments, and line continuations. Trace the test files for rewrite to understand expected behavior.
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.
Half day
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
GitRust
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
55