Grok is xAI's model, and it has a personality you'll notice right away — looser, more opinionated, and happy to weigh in confidently on current events. If the default cloud models feel a little buttoned-up for your taste, an assistant built on Grok is a refreshing change of voice.
A distinct voice with confident takes on current events.
- Authentication
- API key
- Cost
- $$
- Recommended model
- Grok 4.3
What you'll need
- An xAI account at console.x.ai.
- A payment method — you'll add API credits to your xAI console balance.
- HolaClaw installed on your Mac.
Five minutes, start to finish.
Get your API key
Grok connects to HolaClaw with an API key — a long secret code that proves requests are coming from your account. Think of it as a password your assistant uses to talk to xAI on your behalf, so keep it private.
- Sign in at console.x.ai.
- Open the API Keys section and create a new key. Name it something you'll recognize, like "HolaClaw".
- Copy the key as soon as it appears — it's shown in full only once. Lose it and you can just make a new one.
- Add some credits to your console balance if it's empty, so your first message doesn't bounce back.
Heads-up — X Premium is not API access. Paying for X (Twitter) Premium gets you Grok inside the X app and website, but that's a separate product. It does not power HolaClaw. For that you need an xAI console account with its own API credits, billed separately from any X subscription you may already have.
Connect it to your assistant
You pick the provider while creating an assistant, in Step 2 · Model provider — the screen that says "Connect the brain behind your assistant."
- In HolaClaw, start the Create Assistant flow and go to Step 2.
- Choose Grok in the provider sidebar.
- Paste your key into the Grok API Key field. It's masked like a password, which is expected.
- Pick a model (below) and continue with the rest of the setup.
As the app notes right under the field: "Your credentials stay on your Mac — we never send them anywhere." The key is stored inside the assistant's private virtual machine on your Mac. HolaClaw's servers never see it, and xAI bills you directly — HolaClaw adds nothing on top.
Choosing a model
HolaClaw offers two Grok models:
| Model | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Grok 4.3 (recommended) | Everyday chat, companionship, current events | The all-round pick |
| Grok Build 0.1 | Building and coding tasks | Experimental |
Grok 4.3 is the recommended default and the right choice for almost everyone — it's the model that gives Grok its signature voice, and it's plenty capable for daily conversation.
Grok Build 0.1 is an experimental model tuned for building and coding work. Try it if your assistant mostly helps you write or reason about code; for general chat, stick with Grok 4.3.
Tip — when in doubt, Grok 4.3. The model choice is per-assistant, made at creation time. If you later want the other model, create a new assistant with it — your existing assistant keeps the brain it was born with.
What it costs
xAI charges per token — roughly a short word or word-fragment of text. Every message you send and every reply your assistant writes uses some, and your console credit balance ticks down accordingly. No monthly fee — you pay only for what you use.
For a chatty daily assistant, that usually lands in the cents-per-day range. We don't quote exact prices here because they change; check current per-token rates in your xAI console.
Troubleshooting
When something goes wrong with the connection to xAI, HolaClaw shows a banner in the chat explaining what happened:
- "Grok is out of credits" — your balance hit zero. Top up in the xAI console and your assistant resumes on the next message.
- "Grok API key is invalid, expired, or out of credits" — the key was revoked, mistyped, or the account can't pay. Create a fresh key at console.x.ai and update it in the assistant's settings, or top up your balance.
- "Grok rate limit or quota reached" — you're sending requests faster than your account allows. Wait a moment and try again, or raise your limits in the xAI console.
- "Grok is currently unreachable" — xAI's servers are having a moment. Nothing to fix on your end; the next attempt goes through once their service recovers.
Still stuck? The HolaClaw Discord is a friendly place to ask.
Next steps
Not sure Grok is the right brain for this assistant? Compare every option in Choosing an AI provider — and remember you can always spin up another assistant with a different one, like Claude, OpenAI, or Google Gemini. If you'd rather reach Grok through a single key that also covers many other models, see OpenRouter.