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The written version of this session, with the commands and templates to copy.
Optional alternative. This academy teaches Claude Code by default. This session is here for readers who already work in xAI's tools and would rather not add a second subscription.
Grok Build is xAI's coding agent, and the install is one line pasted into a terminal. You do not need IT. You need a terminal window, an active Grok account, and twenty minutes.
This lesson covers Grok Build only. If you have not picked a tool yet, see the general install lesson first, which compares Grok Build against Codex and Claude Code.
Sign in at grok.com or x.ai. Grok Build is not automatically included on every plan, so before you install anything, check the install page at x.ai/cli. It lists current access for your account. If it does not show you as eligible, that is your answer: upgrade first, then come back to Step 2. Keep that browser tab logged in. The first time you launch the tool, it opens a browser to finish login.
Mac: press Command + Space, type Terminal, press Enter. A window opens with a blinking cursor. Lines usually start with % or $.
Windows: click Start, type PowerShell, and open Windows PowerShell, not Command Prompt. The prompt should read PS C:\Users\.... If you see C:\Users\... with no PS in front, you are in Command Prompt. Close it and open PowerShell instead.
Leave this window open. You are about to paste one command into it.
Do not paste an install command into a terminal just because it showed up somewhere. Before you run anything below, read the exact line and check the domain yourself. It has to be x.ai. Every command and link in this academy for AI coding agents points to one of three places: claude.ai, chatgpt.com, or x.ai. Nowhere else. If a command you were given points anywhere else, stop and do not run it.
This is the one command you run before Grok Build exists to explain itself. Once it is installed, keep its permission prompts turned on, read what it is about to do, and ask Grok Build itself if a step is ever unclear.
Copy the line for your operating system. Paste it into the window from Step 2. Press Enter. Text will scroll. Wait until it stops.
Mac:
curl -fsSL https://x.ai/cli/install.sh | bash
Windows (PowerShell):
irm https://x.ai/cli/install.ps1 | iex
When it finishes, close the terminal window completely and open a new one. Then check that the command exists:
grok --version
If the new window says the command is not found, the installer added itself to PATH but this window was opened before that happened. A fresh window almost always fixes it.
ai-setup-test (Finder or File Explorer is fine).Mac:
cd ~/Desktop/ai-setup-test
Windows:
cd $HOME\Desktop\ai-setup-test
grok and press Enter.Create a file named hello.txt in this folder. The file should contain the sentence: I am set up.
Approve the file write if it asks.
Open the folder in Finder or File Explorer. You should see hello.txt. Open it. You should see that sentence. You did not type the file by hand. Grok Build did.
grok --version again.You can open a new terminal, cd into any folder, run grok, and get a reply. The hello.txt file exists on disk with the sentence you asked for. That is a working Grok Build install, verified by a file it created, not by you taking the install script's word for it.
Template included: Members get a one-page Grok Build setup card: both OS install commands, the verify-before-you-run checklist, and the first prompt to confirm the install worked. Find it in your member dashboard under Templates.
Short on time? Agentic Quarks will implement this end to end, wired into your stack, and hand you the keys.
Grok Build is xAI's coding agent, and the install is one line pasted into a terminal. You do not need IT. You need a terminal window, an active Grok account, and twenty minutes. This lesson walks you through it, on Mac or Windows.
Before you install anything, sign in at grok dot com or x dot ai. Then open the install page at x dot ai slash cli. It shows whether your account has access. If it does not, upgrade first, then come back and continue.
Open the right window for your system. On a Mac, press Command Space and type Terminal, where lines start with percent or dollar. On Windows, open PowerShell, not Command Prompt, where the prompt starts with P S. Leave that window open.
Do not run a command just because someone gave it to you. Read it first and check what domain it downloads from. The domain has to read x dot ai. Anywhere else, stop. Once Grok Build is installed, keep its permission prompts on and read what it is about to do.
Copy the Mac install line and paste it into your terminal. Press Enter and wait for it to finish. Then close the window completely, open a new one, and type grok dash dash version to confirm the command exists.
In your new terminal, go to your test folder and type grok. The first launch opens your browser to approve login. Then type this exactly: create a file named hello dot t x t containing the sentence, I am set up.
Open the folder on your desktop. hello dot t x t is sitting there, holding the exact sentence you asked for. You did not type it by hand. Grok Build read the prompt, wrote the file, and saved it, on your machine.
You are done when you can open a brand new terminal, run grok from any folder, and get a reply. Check that hello dot t x t still holds your sentence. Members get the full one-page setup card in the template vault.
Grok Build is installed and it already did real work on your machine. That is the last step in Start Here. From here, every lesson assumes this is already running. Next, the Your AI Coding Agent course puts it to work for real.
Who this is for, what you need, and your first AI agent installed
7 sessions, 17 min of video, about 1.9 hours to do, 7 free.
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