diff --git a/.chezmoiignore b/.chezmoiignore
index c168d5e..21e4dcc 100644
--- a/.chezmoiignore
+++ b/.chezmoiignore
@@ -32,3 +32,7 @@ iterm2-preferences
 # (.chezmoiignore is itself templated; stat is re-evaluated every apply, so this
 # self-corrects after `brew bundle` installs the app, or if it's removed).
 {{ if or (ne .chezmoi.os "darwin") (not (stat "/Applications/Sublime Text.app")) }}bin/subl{{ end }}
+
+# rtk config: one shared template, two OS-specific targets. rtk hard-wires
+# ~/Library/Application Support on darwin (ignores XDG) and ~/.config elsewhere.
+{{ if ne .chezmoi.os "darwin" }}Library{{ else }}.config/rtk{{ end }}
diff --git a/.chezmoitemplates/rtk-config.toml b/.chezmoitemplates/rtk-config.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..03e46d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chezmoitemplates/rtk-config.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+[tracking]
+enabled = true
+history_days = 90
+
+[display]
+colors = true
+emoji = true
+max_width = 120
+
+[filters]
+ignore_dirs = [
+    ".git",
+    "node_modules",
+    "target",
+    "__pycache__",
+    ".venv",
+    "vendor",
+]
+ignore_files = [
+    "*.lock",
+    "*.min.js",
+    "*.min.css",
+]
+
+[tee]
+enabled = true
+mode = "failures"
+max_files = 20
+max_file_size = 1048576
+
+[telemetry]
+enabled = false
+consent_given = false
+consent_date = "2026-06-21T06:05:58.603291+00:00"
+
+[hooks]
+exclude_commands = [
+    "rg",  # rtk grep backend is BSD grep on macOS; rg flags break silently (exit 0)
+    "grep",  # 254/287 parse failures; 6.1K lifetime savings vs silent zero-match risk
+    "curl",  # 2 tokens saved on 138K input; schema-compaction risks mangling API responses
+    "diff",  # 28 parse failures vs 8 filtered runs; condensing strips hunk context
+]
+# git restricted to commit/fetch: compact filters strip output the model needs (e.g. stash SHA)
+transparent_prefixes = [
+    "git stash",
+    "git status",
+    "git log",
+    "git diff",
+    "git add",
+    "git push",
+    "git pull",
+    "git branch",
+    "git show",
+    "git worktree",
+    "git checkout",
+    "git switch",
+    "git restore",
+    "git reset",
+    "git merge",
+    "git rebase",
+    "git remote",
+    "git rev-parse",
+    "git tag",
+    "git blame",
+    "git ls-files",
+    "git ls-remote",
+    "git reflog",
+    "git cherry-pick",
+    "git describe",
+    "git config",
+    "git check-attr",
+    "git submodule",
+    "git clean",
+    "git rm",
+    "git mv",
+    "git init",
+    "git clone",
+    "git apply",
+    "git bisect",
+]
+
+[limits]
+grep_max_results = 200
+grep_max_per_file = 25
+status_max_files = 15
+status_max_untracked = 10
+passthrough_max_chars = 2000
diff --git a/2026_REFRESH.md b/2026_REFRESH.md
index ecf68fe..7920898 100644
--- a/2026_REFRESH.md
+++ b/2026_REFRESH.md
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ Old bash-specific files removed (git history preserved).
 | ripgrep (rg) | Better grep |
 | fzf | Fuzzy finder |
 | git-delta | Better git diff |
+| rtk | Token-optimizing CLI proxy for Claude Code (one-time `rtk init -g`, see below) |
 
 ### Brewfile Pared Down
 
@@ -114,6 +115,28 @@ cd ~/.dotfiles
 exec zsh
 ```
 
+### Post-install: wire rtk into Claude Code (one-time, per machine)
+
+`rtk` (the token-optimizing Claude Code proxy) installs fleet-wide via the mise
+baseline, but its Claude integration writes to `~/.claude/` — which chezmoi does
+not manage — so it needs a single manual step after install:
+
+```bash
+rtk init -g          # hook + RTK.md + @RTK.md in ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md + settings.json
+rtk init --show      # verify: all rows [ok]
+```
+
+Idempotent — safe to re-run. Skips automation in the dotfiles repo on purpose so
+chezmoi never fights rtk over `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` and `settings.json`.
+
+rtk's own config *is* chezmoi-managed (`.chezmoitemplates/rtk-config.toml`, one
+template → `~/.config/rtk/` on linux, `~/Library/Application Support/rtk/` on
+darwin). It dials the hook back to where filtering measurably pays off: `rg`,
+`grep`, `curl`, `diff` excluded (silent-failure risk or ~zero savings) and git
+restricted to `commit`/`fetch` via `transparent_prefixes` (compact filters
+stripped output the model needed, e.g. `git stash` SHAs). Verify a rewrite
+decision anytime with `rtk hook check "<cmd>"`.
+
 ## Verification
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/dot_config/mise/conf.d/fresh.toml b/dot_config/mise/conf.d/fresh.toml
index c98374c..73723e9 100644
--- a/dot_config/mise/conf.d/fresh.toml
+++ b/dot_config/mise/conf.d/fresh.toml
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ starship = "latest"
 # AI coding agents
 codex    = "latest"  # openai/codex
 opencode = "latest"  # anomalyco/opencode
+rtk      = "latest"  # aqua:rtk-ai/rtk — token-optimizing CLI proxy for Claude Code.
 
 # Dotfiles management — must be in the committed baseline so a fresh machine's
 # install.sh (mise install -> chezmoi init) can bootstrap. (Previously chezmoi
diff --git a/dot_config/rtk/config.toml.tmpl b/dot_config/rtk/config.toml.tmpl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2738a49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dot_config/rtk/config.toml.tmpl
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{{- template "rtk-config.toml" . -}}
diff --git a/private_Library/private_Application Support/rtk/config.toml.tmpl b/private_Library/private_Application Support/rtk/config.toml.tmpl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2738a49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/private_Library/private_Application Support/rtk/config.toml.tmpl	
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{{- template "rtk-config.toml" . -}}