# xAI Grok API Quickstart — OpenAI-Compatible Frontier Model

> xAI Grok API is OpenAI-compatible at api.x.ai/v1. Swap base URL + key, keep the SDK. Grok-3, Grok-2 Vision, 1M-token context.

## Install

Copy the content below into your project:

## Quick Use

1. Get key at console.x.ai
2. `OpenAI(base_url='https://api.x.ai/v1', api_key=XAI_KEY)`
3. Set `model='grok-3'` — done

---

## Intro

xAI's Grok API is OpenAI-compatible — point the OpenAI SDK at api.x.ai/v1 with an XAI_API_KEY, change `model='grok-3'`, and you're running on Grok. Grok-3 is the flagship reasoning model with 1M-token context; Grok-2 Vision handles images; Live Search gives real-time web results inside the call. Best for: apps that need fresh real-time knowledge (news, prices, sports) without a separate retrieval layer; very long context tasks (>200K tokens). Works with: openai-python, openai-node, LangChain, LlamaIndex via OpenAI-compatible adapter. Setup time: 2 minutes.

---

### Python (openai SDK)

```python
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.x.ai/v1",
    api_key=os.environ["XAI_API_KEY"],
)

resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="grok-3",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "What's the latest on the SpaceX launch this week?"}],
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)
```

### Vision with Grok-2

```python
resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="grok-2-vision-latest",
    messages=[{
        "role": "user",
        "content": [
            {"type": "text", "text": "What's wrong with this UI screenshot?"},
            {"type": "image_url", "image_url": {"url": "https://example.com/screenshot.png"}},
        ],
    }],
)
```

### Live Search (real-time web grounding)

```python
resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="grok-3",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "What's BTC price right now and the top 3 reasons it moved today?"}],
    extra_body={
        "search_parameters": {
            "mode": "on",          # off | auto | on
            "sources": [{"type": "web"}, {"type": "x"}, {"type": "news"}],
            "max_search_results": 8,
        }
    },
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)
print(resp.usage.num_sources_used)  # how many sources Grok grounded against
```

### Model lineup

| Model ID | Context | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| `grok-3` | 1,000,000 | Long-context reasoning, complex agents |
| `grok-3-mini` | 131,072 | Fast cheap reasoning |
| `grok-2-vision-latest` | 32,768 | Image understanding |
| `grok-2-image-latest` | n/a | Image generation |

### Pricing (per 1M tokens, May 2026)

- Grok-3: $5 input / $15 output
- Grok-3-mini: $0.30 input / $0.50 output

### Migration from OpenAI

The only changes: `base_url` and the `model` string. Tools, vision, JSON mode, streaming — all work identically.

---

### FAQ

**Q: How does Grok 1M context compare to Gemini 2M?**
A: Both work for full-corpus tasks. Grok-3's 1M is denser per dollar at $5/M input. Gemini 2.5 Pro is ~$1.25/M but has stricter rate limits. For 100K–500K typical jobs, Grok is faster end-to-end; for >800K, both work.

**Q: What sources does Live Search index?**
A: Web (search engine), X (Twitter posts), News (press articles), and RSS. You whitelist via the `sources` array. Grok returns inline citations and a `num_sources_used` count for verification.

**Q: Is the OpenAI-compat layer feature-complete?**
A: Mostly — chat.completions, streaming, tools, vision, JSON mode all work. Audio (TTS / Whisper) is not on the xAI API; use OpenAI for those. Embeddings: not yet on xAI as of May 2026.

---

## Source & Thanks

> Built by [xAI](https://x.ai). API docs at [docs.x.ai](https://docs.x.ai/docs).
>
> Public SDK: [xai-org](https://github.com/xai-org)

---

<!-- ZH -->

## 快速使用

1. 在 console.x.ai 拿 key
2. `OpenAI(base_url='https://api.x.ai/v1', api_key=XAI_KEY)`
3. 设 `model='grok-3'` —— 完事

---

## 简介

xAI 的 Grok API 跟 OpenAI 兼容 —— OpenAI SDK 指向 api.x.ai/v1，带 XAI_API_KEY，改 `model='grok-3'` 就跑 Grok。Grok-3 是旗舰推理模型，1M token 上下文；Grok-2 Vision 处理图片；Live Search 让调用内拿到实时网页结果。适合需要新鲜实时知识（新闻 / 价格 / 体育）的应用、不想单独搭 retrieval 层、超长上下文（>20 万 token）任务。兼容 openai-python、openai-node、LangChain、LlamaIndex（走 OpenAI-compatible 适配器）。装机时间 2 分钟。

---

### Python（openai SDK）

```python
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.x.ai/v1",
    api_key=os.environ["XAI_API_KEY"],
)

resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="grok-3",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "本周 SpaceX 发射最新进展是什么？"}],
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)
```

### Grok-2 视觉

```python
resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="grok-2-vision-latest",
    messages=[{
        "role": "user",
        "content": [
            {"type": "text", "text": "这个 UI 截图哪里不对？"},
            {"type": "image_url", "image_url": {"url": "https://example.com/screenshot.png"}},
        ],
    }],
)
```

### Live Search（实时网页 grounding）

```python
resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="grok-3",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "BTC 现在多少钱？今天上涨/下跌的前 3 大原因？"}],
    extra_body={
        "search_parameters": {
            "mode": "on",          # off | auto | on
            "sources": [{"type": "web"}, {"type": "x"}, {"type": "news"}],
            "max_search_results": 8,
        }
    },
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)
print(resp.usage.num_sources_used)  # Grok grounding 用了几个源
```

### 模型阵容

| 模型 ID | 上下文 | 最佳用途 |
|---|---|---|
| `grok-3` | 1,000,000 | 长上下文推理、复杂 agent |
| `grok-3-mini` | 131,072 | 快速便宜推理 |
| `grok-2-vision-latest` | 32,768 | 图像理解 |
| `grok-2-image-latest` | 不适用 | 图像生成 |

### 价格（每百万 token，2026 年 5 月）

- Grok-3：输入 $5 / 输出 $15
- Grok-3-mini：输入 $0.30 / 输出 $0.50

### 从 OpenAI 迁移

只改 `base_url` 和 `model` 字符串。Tools、视觉、JSON 模式、流式 —— 全一致。

---

### FAQ

**Q: Grok 1M 上下文跟 Gemini 2M 比？**
A: 全语料任务两个都行。Grok-3 的 1M 单位美元更稠 $5/M 输入。Gemini 2.5 Pro ~$1.25/M 但限流更严。10–50 万 token 典型任务 Grok 端到端更快；>80 万都行。

**Q: Live Search 索引哪些源？**
A: Web（搜索引擎）、X（Twitter post）、News（媒体文章）、RSS。在 `sources` 数组里白名单。Grok 返回内联引用和 `num_sources_used` 计数供核对。

**Q: OpenAI 兼容层功能齐全吗？**
A: 基本齐 —— chat.completions、流式、tools、视觉、JSON 模式都能用。音频（TTS / Whisper）xAI API 没有，那个得用 OpenAI。Embeddings：截至 2026 年 5 月 xAI 还没上。

---

## 来源与感谢

> Built by [xAI](https://x.ai). API docs at [docs.x.ai](https://docs.x.ai/docs).
>
> Public SDK: [xai-org](https://github.com/xai-org)


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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/xai-grok-api-quickstart-openai-compatible-frontier-model
Author: xAI