Grok CLI

Grok CLI Skill

This skill turns a user's Grok / xAI request into a deterministic grok-cli workflow. It is SKILL-first. On covered release platforms, prefer the prebuilt GitHub Release binary instead of compiling from source. Today that means macOS Apple Silicon uses the maintainer-uploaded release tarball, Windows x64 uses the GitHub Actions-built release zip, and macOS Intel / Linux stay source-first through Cargo.

Repository:

https://github.com/Moore-developers/grok-cli

Core Workflow

1. Identify the user's intended Grok capability.
2. Preserve the user's original prompt, query, text, file paths, URLs, and output instructions when constructing the command.
3. Prefer explicit flags plus --json for automation, parsing, and reliable error handling.
4. Fast path: run the user's requested grok-cli command directly when grok-cli is available. Do not run status, state, login checks, refresh checks, entitlement checks, or capability probes before routine chat, search, usage, media, or audio commands.
5. If the command succeeds, render the result according to the output mode contract below.
6. If the command fails, inspect the actual shell error or JSON error envelope and run only the matching recovery action.
7. After a successful recovery action, retry the user's original command once, unchanged except for mechanical fixes required by the recovered environment.
8. If the retry fails, return the original error code and message with the minimum actionable note needed.

Keep the original task in mind while handling installation, login, refresh, or permission issues. These are recovery steps after a real failure, not preflight work.

Output Mode Contract

Default output mode is lossless human-readable rendering: parse the JSON envelope, extract command-specific primary fields, and display their values exactly as returned. Return full raw JSON only when the user explicitly asks for raw JSON.

The host assistant is a renderer for Grok results, not a second editor by default. Preserve both the user's request and Grok's response unless the user explicitly asks for translation, summarization, restructuring, rewriting, formatting, or analysis by the host assistant.

Input handling:

• Pass the user's substantive prompt, query, text, URLs, file paths, and requested output format to grok-cli exactly as written.
• Do not translate, summarize, expand, shorten, clean up, normalize, improve, or reinterpret the user's wording before sending it to Grok.
• Do not add hidden instructions, extra context, preferred structure, safety language, style rules, or examples to the Grok prompt unless the user explicitly provided them.
• Only make mechanical changes required by the shell or CLI, such as quoting, escaping, choosing the correct flag, adding explicit date flags requested by the user, or resolving a local path.
• Setup probes, auth checks, and permission checks are separate from the user's original task. Never mix their prompts or outputs into the user's Grok request.

Output handling:

• For text commands, render the exact text value produced by Grok: data.output_text for chat --json, data.answer for search --json, and data.transcript for stt --json.
• Do not summarize, paraphrase, translate, reorder, trim, markdown-polish, add headings, add bullets, correct grammar, merge citations into prose, or otherwise rewrite Grok's text.
• Preserve Grok's whitespace, line breaks, code fences, citations, numbering, and wording as much as the chat surface allows.
• For media commands, return the exact generated file path, URL, data URL, request id, media tag, or handle from the JSON fields. Do not rename or editorialize them.
• If the user asks for raw CLI output or raw JSON, return the complete stdout/stderr payload unchanged except for the minimal fencing needed to display it safely.
• If the user explicitly asks the host assistant to summarize, translate, rewrite, extract, format, compare, classify, or restructure Grok output, enter transformation mode and make it clear that the result is transformed output rather than verbatim Grok output.
• If recovery happened, mention it only after the Grok result, in a short separate note. Do not insert recovery commentary into the Grok result itself.
• If a command fails, return the original error code and message. Add only the minimum actionable recovery note needed for auth, entitlement, or command-shape blockers.

Fast Path And Recovery

Use optimistic execution for normal user tasks:

1. Build the user's original command, for example grok-cli search --json --query "...".
2. Run that command directly.
3. If it succeeds, render the result.
4. If it fails, recover based on the actual error, then retry the original command once.

Do not run readiness probes such as grok-cli search --json --query "Grok" or grok-cli chat --json --prompt "Reply with exactly: ok" before a real user request. A user asking to search should get the real search first.

Structured recovery:

• If the JSON error includes error.recovery_action, treat that as the single source of truth. Do not reinterpret code, message, relogin_required, or entitlement_denied into a different action.
• refresh_then_retry: run grok-cli refresh --json, then retry the original command once.
• login_then_retry: run grok-cli login, then retry the original command once.
• wait_then_retry: wait for error.retry_after_seconds when present, then retry the original command once. If no retry-after value is present, return the rate-limit message.
• fix_args_then_retry: fix the command shape when the missing or incompatible argument is clear, then retry once.
• stop_billing: stop and explain that the official account billing, balance, credits, or spend cap must be fixed outside the CLI.
• stop_quota: stop and explain that quota or usage limit is exhausted.
• stop_rate_limit: stop and explain that the upstream rate limit did not provide a retry window.
• stop_entitlement: stop and explain that the account or subscription cannot access that capability.
• stop_unknown or none: return the original error code and message with the minimum useful note.

Fallback recovery for old grok-cli versions without recovery_action:

• Shell cannot find grok-cli: install it, verify grok-cli --version and grok-cli --help, then retry the original command.
• Shell says a subcommand is missing: repair or upgrade the install, verify grok-cli --help, then retry the original command.
• Credential problems have priority over entitlement wording. If the error code or message contains auth_missing, invalid auth, credential validation failure such as bad-credentials, The OAuth2 access token could not be validated, expired token, stale token, or auth_expired, run grok-cli refresh --json first, then retry the original command. Do this even if the same error envelope also says entitlement_denied: true or xai_oauth_tier_denied.
• If refresh fails because local auth state is missing, refresh cannot recover the session, or relogin_required is true, run grok-cli login, then retry the original command.
• JSON error state_file_missing, auth_relogin_required, or relogin_required: true from the original command means refresh is unlikely to help; run grok-cli login, then retry the original command.
• access_token_expiring from status --json: refresh only when the user specifically asked for status or diagnostics. Do not run status just to discover this before routine tasks.
• billing_required, payment_required, insufficient funds, insufficient balance, credits, or spend cap: stop and explain that the official account billing or balance must be fixed outside the CLI.
• quota_exhausted, insufficient_quota, quota exceeded, or usage limit: stop and explain that quota is exhausted unless the error provides a retry window.
• rate_limited or rate limit: retry only when the error provides a retry-after window; otherwise stop.
• Pure entitlement_denied or xai_oauth_tier_denied without any credential-validation wording: explain that the account or subscription cannot access that capability. Do not retry, reinstall, refresh, or relogin unless the error also explicitly requires relogin.
• invalid_args: fix the command shape if the correct shape is clear, then retry once. If essential information is missing, ask the user for that missing input.

After recovery, retry the original user command, not a probe command. Preserve the original prompt or query exactly.

What Users Can Do Through This Skill

Users should be able to rely on this skill as the primary interface for grok-cli. Route requests to these supported capabilities:

• General Grok reasoning and writing with chat
• X / Twitter search with search
• Image generation with image
• Image editing with image-edit
• Video generation with video
• Video editing with video-edit
• Video extension with video-extend
• Text-to-speech with tts
• Batch speech-to-text with stt
• Experimental streaming speech-to-text with stt-stream
• OAuth install / login / refresh / status / logout / state
• Local usage inspection with usage

Important support rules:

• video supports text-to-video, --image-url, local --image, --reference-image-url, and local --reference-image.
• video-edit supports both --video-url and local --video.
• video-extend supports --video-url only.
• Do not offer video-extend --video <PATH>. Real validation showed that local MP4 input can reach xAI, but extension generation ends in upstream internal error. Users should upload the video first and then use --video-url.
• image-edit --image accepts local paths and remote URLs.
• stt supports local files and remote --url.
• stt-stream is experimental; prefer stt unless the user explicitly needs streaming behavior.

Installation Check

First check whether the command exists:

command -v grok-cli
grok-cli --version
grok-cli --help

Version alone is not enough. Older pre-release installs can report a valid version while missing newer commands. Verify that top-level help includes these required commands:

image-edit
video-edit
video-extend
stt-stream
update

If grok-cli is missing or any required command is absent, first identify the platform and choose the install path in this order:

• macOS Apple Silicon: prefer the GitHub Release asset grok-cli-macos-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz.
• Windows x64: prefer the GitHub Release asset grok-cli-windows-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip.
• macOS Intel and Linux: use Cargo source install.
• If a covered release asset is missing unexpectedly, surface that clearly and do not silently fall back to Cargo on a product platform.
• Only use Cargo when the user explicitly asks for a source build, or when the platform is source-first.

Only check whether Cargo is available when the platform is source-first or when the user explicitly wants a source build:

command -v cargo

For source installs, also check the active compiler version:

rustc --version

grok-cli source installs require Rust 1.88 or newer because the crate uses edition 2024 and declares rust-version = "1.88". CI and local development are pinned to Rust 1.92.0 through rust-toolchain.toml.

Use GitHub Release binaries by default when the user's platform is covered:

• macOS Apple Silicon: grok-cli-macos-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
• Windows x64: grok-cli-windows-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip

If Cargo is missing on macOS Intel or Linux, do not invent a binary install path; tell the user they need Rust/Cargo first and point them to install Rust with rustup.

If rustc --version is older than 1.88, stop and explain the exact requirement instead of telling the user to "upgrade Rust" generically. Say that grok-cli source install requires Rust 1.88+ and that the repository toolchain is currently 1.92.0. Then suggest either:

• using the release binary on macOS Apple Silicon or Windows x64, or
• running rustup update before retrying the source install on source-first platforms.

For Release binary installs:

1. Confirm the platform is exactly covered by the asset name.
2. Download the asset and matching .sha256 from the latest GitHub Release.
3. Verify the checksum when possible.
4. Extract the binary.
5. Put grok-cli or grok-cli.exe in a directory already on PATH; if none is suitable, use ~/.local/bin, temporarily add it to the current shell PATH, and tell the user how to make that permanent.
6. If command -v grok-cli still fails but ~/.local/bin/grok-cli exists and is executable, treat this as a PATH configuration issue, not a failed install. Continue by temporarily exporting PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" or using ~/.local/bin/grok-cli directly for verification.
7. Run grok-cli --version and grok-cli --help.
8. Retry the original Grok task. If that task reports auth trouble, follow OAuth handling below.

If Cargo is the chosen path, install from the latest repository state when the user asked for latest:

cargo install --git https://github.com/Moore-developers/grok-cli.git --locked --force

For a pinned public version:

cargo install --git https://github.com/Moore-developers/grok-cli.git --tag v0.1.6 --locked --force

After installation, verify:

grok-cli --version
grok-cli --help
grok-cli update --check --json

Use grok-cli update when the user explicitly asks to upgrade the CLI. Use grok-cli update --no-update-check when the user asks to disable passive update prompts, and grok-cli update --enable-update-check when they ask to turn prompts back on. Do not run update checks before routine Grok tasks; the CLI skips passive notices for JSON and raw stream automation output.

If reinstalling because a command was missing, rerun the original user task after verification. Do not stop at installation.

OAuth Handling

Do not check OAuth status before routine Grok calls. Let the user's real command run first, then recover only if it reports an auth problem.

For current grok-cli JSON errors, follow error.recovery_action:

• refresh_then_retry: run grok-cli refresh --json, then retry the original command once.
• login_then_retry: run grok-cli login, then retry the original command once.
• stop_billing, stop_quota, stop_rate_limit, or stop_entitlement: stop and surface the blocker; do not refresh, relogin, reinstall, or run probes.

For old grok-cli JSON errors without recovery_action, use the fallback recovery map above. If the retry still fails, explain the returned structured error clearly and ask for login only when the error says relogin is required.

Command Routing

Default to explicit flags plus --json for reliable automation.

Use chat for general Grok reasoning or answering:

grok-cli chat --json --prompt "Summarize this topic"

Use search for X / Twitter / social discussion search:

grok-cli search --json --query "What are builders saying about Grok today?"

For X search tasks:

• Include relevant date flags when the user asks for today, recent discussion, or a bounded time window.
• Pass the search query text through exactly as the user wrote it.
• After running the command, return data.answer exactly as Grok returned it.
• Preserve data.citations and data.inline_citations exactly when exposing citations.
• Do not add host-assistant conclusions about sufficiency, sentiment, or meaning unless the user explicitly asks for your analysis.
• If the command itself reports sparse or missing results, pass that message through rather than turning it into a separate summary.

Use image for image generation:

grok-cli image --json --prompt "A cinematic skyline at sunrise"

Use image-edit for image editing:

grok-cli image-edit --json --image ./source.png --prompt "Make it cinematic"

Use video for video generation:

grok-cli video --json --prompt "Animate a futuristic skyline" --duration 8

Use video-edit for editing an existing video:

grok-cli video-edit --json --video-url https://example.com/source.mp4 --prompt "Make it cinematic"

Use video-extend for extending an existing video:

grok-cli video-extend --json --video-url https://example.com/source.mp4 --prompt "Continue the camera move" --duration 6

Use tts for text-to-speech:

grok-cli tts --json --text "Hello from Grok"

Use stt for batch speech-to-text:

grok-cli stt --json --file ./sample.wav

Use usage for local usage stats:

grok-cli usage --json

Common Parameter Cheat Sheet

Use this page for the usual knobs and a few representative values. If the user asks for a rare flag, an exact value range, or a long combination rule, stop here and open the matching reference file below instead of trying to squeeze everything into the main SKILL.

• login: use --no-browser, --manual-paste, --timeout 300, and --port 8787 when the machine cannot complete a normal browser callback.
• status, refresh, logout, state: use --auth-file <PATH> when the user wants an alternate local OAuth state file.
• model: use --model grok-4.5 or --model grok-4.6 to set the shared default text model for chat and search; no other text models are supported.
• usage: use --session-db <PATH> and --session-id <ID> for a specific local usage record.
• chat: use --prompt or a positional prompt, --system, --model, --no-web-search, --with-x-search, --allowed-domain example.com, --stream, --no-stream, --raw-stream, and --timeout 3600.
• search: use --query or a positional query, --model, --allowed-x-handle xAI, --from-date 2026-05-01, --to-date 2026-05-21, --stream, --no-stream, --raw-stream, and --timeout 3600.
• image: use --count 1-10, --response-format url|b64_json, --output-file <PATH>, --output-dir <PATH>, --aspect-ratio 1:1, and --resolution 1k.
• image-edit: use repeat --image up to 3 times, --output-file <PATH>, and --response-format b64_json when writing locally.
• video: use --image ./source.png, --reference-image ./a.png, --duration 8, --aspect-ratio 16:9, and --resolution 720p.
• video-edit: use --video ./source.mp4 or --video-url https://....
• video-extend: use --video-url https://... and --duration 6.
• tts: use --list-voices, --text, --voice-id ara, --language en, --output ./out.mp3, and --output-format mp3.
• stt: use --file ./sample.wav, --url, --language auto, --format true, --diarize, --keyterm Grok, and --filler-words.
• stt-stream: use --file ./sample.wav, --interim-results, --language auto, and --sample-rate 16000.

Reference Map

Use the matching reference file when the user wants exact flag behavior, uncommon combinations, or the full parameter surface:

• references/install-and-auth.md: install, status, login, refresh, logout, state, and auth-file handling.
• references/commands-basic.md: chat, search, model, usage, and text-command filters.
• references/commands-media.md: image, image-edit, video, video-edit, video-extend, TTS, and STT common use.
• references/commands-advanced.md: exact values, rare flags, combination rules, and edge cases.
• references/errors.md: JSON errors, auth recovery, and entitlement handling.
• references/outputs.md: stable JSON fields to read.

When the user gives a local media path:

• image-edit --image ./file.png: supported
• video --image ./file.png: supported
• video --reference-image ./file.png: supported
• video-edit --video ./file.mp4: supported
• video-extend --video ./file.mp4: not supported in the current public skill surface; convert to a remote URL workflow instead

Skill Test Prompts

Use these prompts to verify that Codex or Claude Code routes through this skill correctly and picks the expected grok-cli command shape. For the full matrix, including every public capability and local-file coverage, use:

• docs/project/skill-validation-cases.md

Minimum routing and pass-through checks:

• 用 Grok 总结一下最近关于 Rust CLI 设计的讨论，返回结构化结果 Expected route: grok-cli chat --json --prompt ...; the prompt text must remain unchanged.
• 搜索一下 X 上大家今天怎么评价 Grok CLI Expected route: grok-cli search --json --query ...; the query text must remain unchanged.
• 生成一张 1:1 的极简终端图标，保存到本地 Expected route: grok-cli image --json --prompt ... --aspect-ratio 1:1 --output-file ...
• 把这张图片改得更像命令行工具封面：./source.png Expected route: grok-cli image-edit --json --image ./source.png --prompt ...
• 用这张本地图片做一个短视频：./source.png Expected route: grok-cli video --json --prompt ... --image ./source.png
• 编辑这个本地视频，让画面更有电影感：./source.mp4 Expected route: grok-cli video-edit --json --video ./source.mp4 --prompt ...
• 把这个视频再延长两秒：https://example.com/source.mp4 Expected route: grok-cli video-extend --json --video-url https://example.com/source.mp4 --duration 2 --prompt ...
• 把这段文字转成 ara 声音的 mp3 并保存 Expected route: grok-cli tts --json --text ... --voice-id ara --output ... --output-format mp3
• 转写这个音频，并保留关键词 Grok 和 CLI：./sample.wav Expected route: grok-cli stt --json --file ./sample.wav --keyterm Grok --keyterm CLI ...

Negative routing checks:

• If the user asks to extend a local video file directly, the skill must not invent video-extend --video ./source.mp4.
• Instead, the skill should explain that video-extend currently requires a remote URL and ask for or help produce an upload URL workflow.

Error Handling

Read JSON errors from the standard envelope:

{
  "ok": false,
  "command": "chat",
  "error": {
    "code": "auth_missing",
    "message": "...",
    "relogin_required": false,
    "entitlement_denied": false,
    "category": "auth_refreshable",
    "recovery_action": "refresh_then_retry",
    "retryable": true,
    "retry_after_seconds": null,
    "billing_required": false,
    "quota_exhausted": false,
    "rate_limited": false
  }
}

Important handling rules:

• Prefer error.recovery_action over every other field.
• If recovery_action is absent because the local binary is old, use the fallback recovery rules above.
• Billing, quota, and pure entitlement blockers should not trigger refresh, login, or reinstall loops.
• If a command returns invalid arguments, fix the command shape instead of asking the user to debug CLI syntax.

Output To User

Default to lossless human-readable rendering: parse the JSON envelope, extract the command-specific primary fields, and display their values exactly as returned. Then briefly mention any recovery performed, such as installing grok-cli, refreshing credentials, or completing OAuth.

For text commands, copy data.output_text, data.answer, or data.transcript exactly. For media commands, report the exact returned file path, URL, request id, media tag, or generated media handle. Return raw JSON only when the user asks for raw JSON; when they do ask, return the raw JSON unchanged.