# What is Grok Build? xAI's terminal coding agent explained > Grok Build is a beta command-line coding agent from xAI. Here is what it does, how to install it, and what xAI has said about plans, limits and model prices. URL: https://claudegpt.si/news/grok-build-what-is-it Published: 2026-11-06T22:57:39.658Z Author: ClaudeGPT Si Newsroom Section: AI Tools Topics: xAI, Grok, Grok Build, Coding agents Publisher: ClaudeGPT Si ## Key takeaways - Grok Build is xAI's terminal coding agent, launched as an early beta on May 25, 2026. - At launch it was open to SuperGrok and X Premium Plus subscribers, and xAI lists no separate price for it. - xAI lists grok-build-0.1 on its API at $1.00 per million input tokens and $2.00 per million output tokens under 200k prompt tokens. Grok Build is xAI's coding agent for the terminal. You run it with the `grok` command in a project folder, give it a task, and it reads your code, plans the work and edits files. xAI [launched it as an early beta on May 25, 2026](https://x.ai/news/grok-build-cli), and describes it as built for professional software engineers doing complex work. It is a tool in the same category as Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex CLI, not a chatbot and not a new model. This page covers what it does, how to get it, and what xAI has and hasn't said about cost and limits, as of November 6, 2026. ## What Grok Build is According to xAI, Grok Build works in three ways, per the [Grok Build docs](https://docs.x.ai/build/overview): - An interactive terminal interface, started with `grok`. - Headless mode, started with `grok -p ""`, for scripts and automations. Adding `--output-format streaming-json` streams the output. - The Agent Client Protocol (ACP), an open standard that lets other apps and editors drive an agent. xAI says it supports ACP fully, so you can build your own bots on top of it. The launch post lists these features: - **Plan mode.** For a complex task, the agent writes a plan first. You can approve it, comment on steps or rewrite it before anything runs. Approved changes show up as diffs. - **Your existing setup.** It reads `AGENTS.md` files, and works with plugins, hooks, skills and MCP servers (a standard way to connect an agent to outside tools). - **Subagents.** It can split a large task across specialized subagents that run in parallel, including each in its own git worktree. - **A `/feedback` command** that sends bugs and requests to xAI. The docs also list a status line, a plugin marketplace, enterprise deployment, and Grok Bot, xAI's cloud-based AI teammate. We cover that product in [How to use Grok Bot](https://claudegpt.si/news/grok-bot-how-to-use). ## Who it is for Developers who already work in a terminal and want an agent that edits a real repository. xAI's own wording is "professional software engineering and complex coding work." If you want a chat window to ask coding questions, the Grok app does that without any of this. ## How to get Grok Build 1. Install it. On macOS or Linux, xAI's launch post gives `curl -fsSL https://x.ai/cli/install.sh | bash`. The docs also point to a PowerShell script for Windows. 2. Run `grok` in your project directory. The first launch opens a browser so you can sign in with your account. 3. On a machine with no browser, set the `XAI_API_KEY` environment variable instead. 4. Pick a model with `/model ` in the interface, or `-m` in headless mode. You can also define custom models in `~/.grok/config.toml`. `grok inspect` shows the skills, plugins, hooks and MCP servers it found. We did not run the installer. The steps above come from xAI's pages. ## Who can use it and what it costs At launch, xAI said Grok Build was available to all SuperGrok and X Premium Plus subscribers. The launch post lists no separate price for Grok Build. Since then, xAI has folded its plans into [The X Subscription](https://x.ai/news/x-subscription). As of October 12, 2026, its page lists these plans: | Plan | Price | Included usage | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | Limited | | Plus | $8 a month | Base | | Premium | $30 a month | 4x Plus | | Super | $100 a month | 15x Plus | | Ultra | $200 a month | 50x Plus | That page links to Grok Build but does not say which plans include it, so check your plan's page before you pay for it. xAI's pricing page does mention a Grok Build free tier, but only to say that it does not include Grok 4.7 Fast. We could not find xAI text describing what the free tier does include. ## Usage limits xAI has not published a number of tasks or tokens for Grok Build. What it has published is the system around it. Paid plans draw from one weekly usage pool shared across Grok and Cursor, and the pool resets weekly. Different activities use different amounts, and a long coding task uses far more than a chat message. When the pool runs out, you can buy extra usage credits, upgrade, or turn on auto top-up. The [usage limits page](https://docs.x.ai/x-subscription/usage-limits) sends you to x.ai/pricing for the included amounts per plan. Our explainer on the [Grok weekly limit](https://claudegpt.si/news/grok-weekly-limit) covers how the pool works. ## Models and API prices Grok Build runs on xAI models. The [API pricing page](https://docs.x.ai/developers/pricing) lists `grok-build-0.1`, a text model with a 256,000-token context window: | Model | Prompt under 200k tokens | Prompt 200k tokens and up | | --- | --- | --- | | grok-build-0.1 input | $1.00 per million | $2.00 per million | | grok-build-0.1 cached input | $0.20 per million | $0.40 per million | | grok-build-0.1 output | $2.00 per million | $4.00 per million | Prices are as listed on November 6, 2026. They matter if you call the model through the API. Inside Grok Build on a subscription, your plan's usage pool pays instead. xAI also lists Grok 4.7 Fast, a faster version of Grok 4.7 that is available only in Cursor and Grok Build, and is billed through your plan. It is not on the public API. ## What we don't know - Which X Subscription tiers include Grok Build, and what the free tier allows. - The absolute usage allowance per plan. - Whether the beta label will come off, and when. - Independent benchmarks. xAI's launch post gives none, so how it compares with other coding agents on real tasks is untested here. For a view of what xAI charges elsewhere, see [Grok Imagine plans, pricing and limits](https://claudegpt.si/news/grok-imagine-plans-pricing-limits). ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Grok Build free? xAI has not said what its free tier includes. Its pricing page says the free tier does not include Grok 4.7 Fast. At launch, xAI said Grok Build was available to SuperGrok and X Premium Plus subscribers. ### How do I install Grok Build? On macOS or Linux, xAI's launch post gives `curl -fsSL https://x.ai/cli/install.sh | bash`, then you run `grok` and sign in through the browser. The docs also point to a PowerShell script for Windows. ### Does Grok Build work on Windows? xAI's docs say there is a PowerShell install script for Windows, and the config file lives under %USERPROFILE%\.grok. ### What model does Grok Build use? xAI lists grok-build-0.1, a text model with a 256,000-token context window, and Grok 4.7 Fast, which is available only in Cursor and Grok Build. You can switch models with /model. ## Sources - [Introducing Grok Build](https://x.ai/news/grok-build-cli), xAI - [Grok Build overview](https://docs.x.ai/build/overview), xAI - [Introducing The X Subscription](https://x.ai/news/x-subscription), xAI - [Usage limits](https://docs.x.ai/x-subscription/usage-limits), xAI - [API pricing](https://docs.x.ai/developers/pricing), xAI