How to Install Grok Build on Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora)

Quick answer: install Grok Build on Linux in one line

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

# Verify the install
grok --version

# Start it inside a project
cd ~/my-project
grok

Update later with grok update. The commands in this guide come from the official Grok Build documentation and the official grok-build repository, which hosts the full user guide.

Requirements

• A 64-bit Linux on x64 (x86_64) or ARM64 (aarch64). The installer stops on any other architecture.
• curl or wget, plus Bash to run the install script.
• A grok.com account for the browser login, or an xAI API key from console.x.ai.
• An internet connection.

What the installer changes on your system

• It downloads the binary for your architecture and links it as ~/.grok/bin/grok, plus an agent alias next to it.
• It adds ~/.grok/bin to your PATH in ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc or your fish config, depending on your shell, and installs shell completions.
• If ~/.local/bin or /usr/local/bin is already on your PATH and writable, it also creates a symlink there, so grok works right away.
• Config, credentials and sessions live under ~/.grok/. Set GROK_HOME to move that folder somewhere else.

First run and logging in (also over SSH)

• Open a terminal in a project folder and type grok.
• Your browser opens so you can sign in with grok.com. Credentials are saved in ~/.grok/auth.json and refresh on their own.
• On a server, over SSH or inside a container, run grok login --device-auth. It prints a URL and a code: open the URL on any other device, enter the code and Grok Build picks up the login.
• For CI or scripts, export XAI_API_KEY instead. Grok Build uses it when there is no active session token.

# Headless login with a device code
grok login --device-auth

# Or use an API key
export XAI_API_KEY="xai-..."
grok

The official authentication guide also covers company SSO through OIDC and external auth scripts.

Common Linux errors and how to fix them

• "grok: command not found" after installing: your current shell has not read the new PATH yet. Open a new terminal, or run export PATH="$HOME/.grok/bin:$PATH".
• "Either curl or wget is required but neither is installed": minimal images often ship without both. Install one with your package manager and run the installer again.
• "Unsupported architecture" or "Grok is not yet available for your system": there is no prebuilt binary for your machine. Only 64-bit x86_64 and aarch64 are published.
• "Authentication failed": run grok logout to clear cached credentials, then grok login (or grok login --device-auth over SSH).
• Broken copy and paste, colors or keys in tmux, over SSH or on Wayland: run grok doctor in your shell, or /doctor inside Grok Build. It checks your terminal, multiplexer and clipboard and lists the available fixes.

Running several Grok Build sessions on Linux

With Grok Build working, the next limit shows up quickly: one terminal is one task at a time. You hand Grok a job and wait. Opening more tabs in GNOME Terminal or tmux helps, until you lose track of which session finished, which one is waiting for approval and what each one changed.

CodeAgentSwarm is a desktop app for exactly that, and it now runs on Linux as a .deb (Ubuntu, Debian and derivatives) or an AppImage (Fedora and most other distros), for x64 and ARM64. It is a free download. Pick Grok Build in any terminal and run it next to Claude Code, Codex and other agents, with desktop notifications when an agent finishes or needs input, searchable history across every session and a live diff of what each terminal changed.

Good next steps: how to use Grok Build for the commands you will use every day, and Grok Build in headless mode and CI if your Linux box is a build server.

Conclusion

On Linux, Grok Build is one curl command away, and grok login --device-auth covers servers without a browser. Run grok doctor if anything looks off. When a single terminal stops being enough, CodeAgentSwarm lets you run several at once.