Grok Build

Works with the CLI alone. No gander.md account.

Grok Build is xAI's coding agent. It runs as an interactive TUI, headlessly in scripts, or through ACP in other apps, and it reads local files, skills, and MCP servers.

Grok Build is the Grok coding harness (TUI and related surfaces). It searches ~/.grok/skills and, with compatibility on, Claude and Cursor skill dests plus .agents/skills. gander skill writes all of those. MCP for @agent comments is configured in ~/.grok/config.toml. gander mcp install also writes the Claude MCP file, which Grok Build may pick up through Claude compatibility; the native Grok file is the one to check if tools do not appear.

A shorter product page lives at Use with Grok Build.

1. Install the CLI

curl -fsSL https://release.gander.md/install.sh | bash
gander --version

After Homebrew or a source build, run the post-steps yourself:

gander skill

2. Confirm the skill landed

ls -l ~/.grok/skills/gander/SKILL.md

Grok Build also sees ~/.claude/skills/gander and ~/.cursor/skills/gander unless you turned vendor skill compat off in ~/.grok/config.toml. Start a new Grok Build session so it rescans. Ask it to list skills, or invoke Gander by asking to preview or watch a markdown file.

3. Sign up and wire MCP

gander signup --email [email protected]
gander mcp install

Add a Grok-native stdio server if Gander tools are not in the session. In ~/.grok/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.gander]
command = "gander"
args = ["mcp"]
enabled = true

Use the full path to the binary if gander is not on the PATH that Grok Build inherits. Restart Grok Build after editing MCP config.

Grok Build can schedule an inbox loop after you gander a file (/loop / scheduler). The skill starts a /loop 1m and then sets the interval from poll.interval. You should not have to type /loop yourself.

4. Use it

  1. Ask Grok Build for a plan. When it finishes, the skill should offer to save ./plans/YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md and gander it.
  2. Say watch this or gander this file. After signup that is gander watch plan.md.
  3. Send the hosted URL. Reviewers comment in the browser.
  4. Comments that start with @agent are pulled through MCP. Grok Build edits the local file, replies, and the same link refreshes.

If MCP is down, gander comments prints the inbox in the terminal.

5. Verify

gander list
gander comments
ls ~/.grok/skills/gander

In Grok Build, ask which MCP tools are available. You want gander_list_comments, gander_reply_comment, gander_resolve_thread, and gander_unresolve_thread.

More: Skill, MCP, Hosted watch, Comments.