Grok Learning Map
Grok Build is xAI's first-party terminal coding agent. The executable is named
grok, and the source is open at xai-org/grok-build.Official definition (docs.x.ai/build/overview): "Grok Build is a powerful and extensible coding agent. Use it via an interactive TUI, headlessly in scripts or bots, or through the Agent Client Protocol (ACP) in other apps."
Product landscape
Several xAI products share the word "Grok" or "Build". They are not one product with four skins. The core learning path in this directory is Grok Build (the terminal coding agent). The other official surfaces now have their own pages so you do not pick the wrong door.
xAI / Grok family
├── Grok (chat) — grok.com, iOS, Android, and X
│ ├── Chat / search / voice / file upload
│ ├── Imagine — images and video (also grok.com/imagine)
│ └── Build Mode — chat-native sites / apps / games, publish to grok.me
├── Grok Build — terminal coding agent (the `grok` command)
│ ├── Interactive TUI
│ ├── Headless (`grok -p`)
│ └── ACP (`grok agent stdio`)
├── Grok Bot — named teammates on a persistent cloud computer
└── xAI API — model HTTP API, including the Imagine API| Product | What it is | Entry point | Analog in the Claude family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grok Build | Terminal coding agent for a real repo | the grok command | Claude Code CLI |
| Grok (chat) | General-purpose assistant | grok.com, Grok apps, X | Claude.ai |
| Imagine | Image and video generation / editing | grok.com/imagine, or the Imagine API | Claude Design (creative surface, not a coding agent) |
| Voice | Hands-free talk in the app + Voice API | grok.com / apps; Voice API | Claude voice / realtime API |
| Connectors | Email / files / calendar / custom MCP inside chat | grok.com/connectors | Claude Connectors |
| Build Mode | Chat-native builder; publish a live link | Mode switcher Build on grok.com / Grok apps | Claude.ai Artifacts-style creation, not Claude Code |
| Grok Bot | Always-on teammates on a shared cloud VM | x.ai/bot desktop + iOS apps | Cowork (task agent, not a repo CLI) |
| Grok Business | Team workspaces, licenses, org controls | docs.x.ai/grok/user-guide | Claude Team / Enterprise |
| xAI API | Model / Imagine / Voice HTTP API | docs.x.ai/developers/quickstart | Anthropic API |
Names that collide:
- Grok Build ≠ Build Mode. Grok Build is the terminal agent (
docs.x.ai/build/*). Build Mode is a grok.com chat mode: "Tell Grok an idea, and it builds a working version live in your chat" and you "Publish to a grok.me link or a custom domain you own" (x.ai/news/grok-build-mode, x.ai/grok/build-mode). Early Beta for SuperGrok Heavy on web, iOS, and Android. Official density is still a marketing page + one news post, so it stays on this map instead of a standalone tutorial. - grok.me is the publish host for Build Mode. It is not a separate product and not the Grok Build CLI.
- Grok Bot ≠ Grok Build headless "bots". Grok Bot is a desktop / iOS product with its own docs tree at docs.x.ai/grok-bot.
- There is no official IDE plugin. Editor use of Grok Build is ACP (
grok agent stdio). terminal-support only documents key-binding differences inside VS Code / Cursor / Windsurf / Zed terminals.
Accounts are not one pool. Grok Build accepts a SuperGrok / X Premium Plus login or XAI_API_KEY. Grok Bot authenticates with a Cursor account and is gated to SuperGrok Heavy, Cursor Ultra, and Cursor Teams Premium (get-started). Build Mode's Early Beta is SuperGrok Heavy only.
Quick decision: which surface?
What do I want to do?
├── Write / debug / refactor / open a PR in a real repository
│ └── → Grok Build (`grok`)
│ ├── In the terminal? → TUI (`grok`)
│ ├── In CI / scripts? → headless (`grok -p`)
│ └── Inside an editor? → ACP (`grok agent stdio`) — no official VS Code plugin
├── Chat / write / research / voice / upload files
│ └── → [Grok Chat](./grok-chat.md) on grok.com or the Grok iOS / Android apps
│ ├── Hands-free talk → [Voice](./grok-voice.md) (product; Voice API is separate)
│ └── Email / Drive / calendar in-thread → [Connectors](./grok-connectors.md)
├── Generate or edit images / video
│ └── → [Imagine](./grok-imagine.md)
│ ├── In the product? → grok.com/imagine (also inside grok.com chat)
│ └── From my own app? → Imagine API
├── Build a website / app / game in chat and share a link
│ └── → Build Mode (grok.com mode switcher → Build)
│ └── SuperGrok Heavy Early Beta; publish to grok.me or a custom domain
├── Hand real work to a teammate that keeps going when the laptop is closed
│ └── → [Grok Bot](./grok-bot.md) (desktop + iOS)
│ └── SuperGrok Heavy / Cursor Ultra / Cursor Teams Premium
├── Team workspaces / licenses / org sharing
│ └── → [Grok Business](./grok-business.md)
└── Call models from my own software
└── → xAI APISources: docs.x.ai/grok/overview, docs.x.ai/build/overview, docs.x.ai/grok-bot/overview, x.ai/grok, x.ai/grok/build-mode, x.ai/news/grok-build-mode, docs.x.ai/developers/model-capabilities/imagine, x.ai/bot.
Three Grok Build surfaces
| Surface | Entry point | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive TUI | grok | Day-to-day development, full-screen terminal UI |
| Headless | grok -p "<prompt>" | Scripts, CI, batch jobs |
| ACP | grok agent stdio | Embedded by editors or your own orchestrator (JSON-RPC over stdin/stdout) |
Sources: docs.x.ai/build/overview, docs.x.ai/build/cli/reference
When Grok Build is worth trying
Try it when
- You already use Claude Code and want a cheap side-by-side comparison. xAI explicitly claims zero-configuration compatibility (it reads
CLAUDE.mdand.claude/settings.json, accepts Claude Code flag aliases, andgrok importpulls in Claude Code sessions), so migration cost is close to zero. - You need long-running orchestration in the terminal: background tasks, scheduled loops, parallel subagents, and worktree isolation are all built in.
- You already subscribe to SuperGrok or X Premium Plus (the launch announcement says: Available now to all SuperGrok and X Premium Plus subscribers), or you have an
XAI_API_KEY.
Hold off when
- You want inline IDE completion — Grok Build is a terminal agent with no completion feature and no official IDE plugin.
- You need a teammate that keeps working after you close the laptop — that is Grok Bot, not Grok Build.
- You want a no-install chat builder that publishes a
*.grok.melink — that is Build Mode on grok.com, SuperGrok Heavy Early Beta. - You need a stable long-term surface — Grok Build is still beta. npm
@xai-official/grokmovedlatestfrom 1.0.3 (2026-08-12) to 1.0.5 (2026-08-16); commands and config keys are still moving. Checkgrok versionand the changelog before pinning anything.
Learning path
| Stage | Read | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Get it running | Install and auth in the Grok Build tutorial | First conversation within 15 minutes |
| 2. Learn the core | TUI / plan mode / permissions in the tutorial | Confident enough to let it edit code |
| 3. Wire it into your workflow | Cookbook | headless, CI, hooks, MCP, subagents |
| 4. Look up parameters | Cheatsheet | Commands, flags, config keys, env vars, pricing |
| 5. Understand the concepts | Glossary | Permission mode vs. sandbox, skill vs. plugin, memory vs. session |
Feature index
Only capabilities that have an official documentation page are listed. Each row links to the primary source.
| Capability | In one line | Official docs |
|---|---|---|
| Plan mode | Draft a plan, get approval, then act | plan-mode |
| Permission rules | allow / ask / deny rules matched against tool calls | permissions |
| Sandbox | OS-level isolation via Landlock / Seatbelt, five profiles | sandbox |
| Project rules | Reads AGENTS.md, and also CLAUDE.md / .cursor/rules | project-rules |
| Skills | SKILL.md defines reusable capability, callable as /<name> | skills-plugins-marketplaces |
| Plugins / Marketplace | Package skills + commands + agents + hooks + MCP for distribution | skills-plugins-marketplaces |
| Hooks | Lifecycle events trigger external commands; can block tool calls | hooks |
| MCP | grok mcp add; tools are namespaced as <server>__<tool> | mcp-servers |
| Subagents / Personas | Built-in general-purpose / explore / plan, plus custom types | subagents |
| Sessions | Indexed by working directory; resume / fork / rewind / compact | sessions |
| Worktrees | Work in an isolated checkout under ~/.grok/worktrees/ | worktrees |
| Background tasks | Task panel plus /loop scheduled repeats | background-tasks |
| Dashboard | Multi-session status overview | dashboard |
| Headless | -p for one-shot prompts, --output-format for JSON | headless-scripting |
| ACP | grok agent stdio runs as an ACP agent for a host app | headless-scripting |
| Enterprise policy | Five config layers, OIDC, MDM-managed policy | enterprise |
| Theming | Built-in GrokNight / GrokDay and others, can follow the system | theming |
Model reference
| Model slug | Positioning (official wording) | Context |
|---|---|---|
grok-4.6 | "For everything else, including code, use Grok 4.6. It is the most intelligent and fastest model we've built." | 500k |
grok-build-0.1 | "xAI's coding model, trained specifically for agentic coding workflows." | 256k |
The current banner on x.ai/build reads "Meet Grok 4.6 • Now powering Grok Build", so the default driving model is grok-4.6. Pricing and limits are in the cheatsheet.
Sources: developers/models, developers/release-notes
Resources
- Official CLI docs: https://docs.x.ai/build/overview
- Official API docs: https://docs.x.ai/developers/quickstart
- CLI changelog: https://x.ai/build/changelog
- Source repository: https://github.com/xai-org/grok-build
- Official plugin marketplace: https://github.com/xai-org/plugin-marketplace
- A fuller source list (with access notes) lives in the cheatsheet's "High-quality sources" section
Related pages
- Grok Build tutorial — install, auth, TUI, headless, ACP
- Cookbook — task-oriented recipes
- Cheatsheet — commands / config / env vars / pricing / sources
- Glossary — what the concepts are and why
- Grok Chat — grok.com / iOS / Android
- Imagine — images and video
- Voice — product Voice + Voice API
- Connectors — email / files / calendar in chat
- Grok Bot — cloud-computer teammates (not the CLI)
- Grok Business — team workspaces
- AI coding tools overview