Grok CLI – Nimno

Also called Grok Build. The latest model is available on the free level.

curl -fsSL https://x.ai/cli/install.sh | bash

This works on Linux (x86_64 and arm64). It downloads the latest stable binary, puts it in ~/.grok/bin/, and usually adds it to your PATH (or creates a symlink).

Verify it worked: grok --version
Launch it: grok
On first run it opens your browser so you can sign in with your xAI / SuperGrok / X Premium+ account.
For headless / CI use (no browser): export XAI_API_KEY="xai-..." grok -p "your prompt here"

Update later

grok update

Optional: pin a specific version

curl -fsSL https://x.ai/cli/install.sh | bash -s 0.2.117   # example version

Security tip: If you prefer not to pipe straight to bash, download and inspect the script first:

curl -fsSL https://x.ai/cli/install.sh -o install-grok.sh
# review the file, then
bash install-grok.sh

Official docs: docs.x.ai/build/overview and the install page at x.ai/cli.

Context Window

The “XXk / 500k” near the top of the Grok Build CLI shows how much of the current session’s context window has been used so far, out of the model’s maximum.

Right now the default model is Grok 4.5, which has a 500,000-token context window.
The number updates live as the conversation, tools, files, reasoning, etc. fill the window.
It is per-session. Starting a new session (/new or just quitting and relaunching) resets the counter.

Useful commands inside the TUI

/context — detailed breakdown (system prompt, messages, tools/skills/MCP overhead, free space, etc.)
/usage (or /cost) — session usage / credit info
/session-info (or /status) — quick overview including context
/compact — compress older history to free up space (it also auto-compacts around ~85%)

Official pages for the limits

Model specs (including the 500k context window): docs.x.ai/developers/models and specifically Grok 4.5
Pricing (note the higher rate once a prompt goes ≥ 200k tokens): docs.x.ai/developers/pricing or the models page above

There’s also a separate shared weekly usage pool for paid features (including Build). That one is tracked on the web under Settings → Usage (and can be topped up with Extra Usage Credits). The 500k number you see in the CLI is the session context window, not that weekly pool.