Grok3 API

Launched Weds Apr 9, 2025.

Grok3 API Podcast

Grok3 finally has a public API, so we fed some docs and things into NotebookLM and got an 8 minute quick intro to the API: how do you access it? How does it compare and contrast? Hopefully this gives you a mental map before you start evaluating it, rather than being overwhelmed by all the docs and announcements!

Grok 3 API Briefing Document

This document provides a detailed review of the main themes, important ideas, and facts extracted from the provided sources regarding Grok 3 and the xAI API.

Main Themes:

• Grok 3 as a Leading AI Model: The sources consistently position Grok 3 as a highly advanced and potentially world-leading AI model, particularly in areas like reasoning, coding, and real-time information access.
• xAI’s Rapid Development and Infrastructure: xAI, the company behind Grok, has demonstrated remarkable speed in developing advanced AI models and building the necessary infrastructure, including a massive GPU-powered supercomputer.
• Unique Features of Grok: Grok distinguishes itself through its integration with X (formerly Twitter) for real-time data and sentiment analysis, its “Think” mode for enhanced reasoning, and its multimodal capabilities (primarily text for now, with vision models on the horizon).
• Accessibility via API: xAI provides an API for developers to integrate Grok models into their applications, offering various models with different capabilities and pricing.
• Comparison with Competitors: The sources frequently compare Grok 3 with models from OpenAI (GPT) and Anthropic (Claude), highlighting its strengths in certain areas while acknowledging some limitations.
• Elon Musk’s Role and Stance on Open Source: The briefing touches upon Elon Musk’s involvement with xAI and his somewhat contradictory stance on open-source AI.
• Practical Applications and Workflow Integration: The documents explore how Grok 3 and the API can be used for various tasks, especially in automation, coding, research, and real-time analysis, and how it integrates with workflow automation tools.

Most Important Ideas and Facts:

• Grok Free’s Performance: According to David Andre, Grok Free (likely a version of Grok 3) “currently is number one on the Chatbot Arena defeating all the other state-of-the-art large language models.” Benchmarks suggest it excels in hard prompts, coding, math, and creative writing, outperforming GPT-4o, Gemini 2.0, and DeepSeek R1.
• xAI’s Infrastructure: xAI built a massive AI supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, with 200,000 GPUs, completing the first 100,000 GPU cluster in just 122 days. The need to build their own data center arose because existing providers quoted 18-24 months for such a setup, which xAI considered too long.
• Grok’s Real-Time Search (DeepSearch): A key advantage of Grok is its DeepSearch feature, which can access and analyze real-time data from X (Twitter). According to David Andre, “this makes gro free the perfect tool for real-time search since it can include tweets.” Tests showed it quickly browsed 100 sources, including tweets from credible AI figures, providing a summarized overview.
• “Big Brain Mode” (Think Mode): Grok features a “Big Brain mode” (also referred to as “Think”) that allows it to function as a reasoning model by utilizing more compute. While the larger Grok 3 might be even better with more training, Grok 3 Mini has shown strong reasoning capabilities in benchmarks.
• Closed Source Nature and Censorship: Despite Elon Musk’s criticisms of OpenAI for being closed source, Grok 3 (and even Grok 2) is completely closed source. Furthermore, the reasoning chains in “Think” mode are reportedly censored to prevent copying. David Andre highlights this as a “clear double standard.”
• Unbiased Stance on Controversial Topics: Compared to models like ChatGPT and Claude, Grok is described as “a lot more unbiased on certain topics especially when it comes to like controversial political or woke topics.” Tests on topics like biological males in women’s sports and climate change skepticism supported this claim.
• Image Generation: Grok’s image generation capabilities are touted as “super realistic” and “completely uncensored,” even allowing the creation of images of celebrities and political figures, which ChatGPT’s DALL-E often refuses.
• Accessing Grok: Currently, access to Grok 3 requires a Premium+ subscription to X (Twitter). There is also mention of a separate, more powerful subscription called “Super Gro” potentially costing $40 per month. The Grok API (as of the April 2025 briefing) is accessed via console.x.ai.
• Grok API Models and Pricing (April 2025): The Grok3 API offers several models, including grok-3-beta, grok-3-mini-beta, and faster variants. Pricing for the beta tier is $3 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens. The mini tier is more affordable, with specific pricing TBD. These prices are noted as potentially higher than competitors but justified by features like the 131,000 token context window and DeepSearch.
• API Compatibility: The xAI API is designed to be compatible with OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs, allowing developers to easily integrate Grok models by changing the base URL to https://api.x.ai/v1 and using their xAI API key.
• Limitations of Grok API: The Grok API (as of April 2025) does not directly access X data and has a knowledge cutoff date of November 17, 2024. Real-time data needs to be provided as context.
• Token Consumption: Token is the basic unit for calculating consumption and pricing. Input prompts and generated completions are broken down into tokens. The xAI Console provides a Tokenizer tool to estimate token counts. Inference endpoints automatically add pre-defined tokens, so the actual consumption might be slightly higher than estimated.
• Rate Limits: Each Grok model in the API has different rate limits to ensure fair usage. Users exceeding these limits will receive a 429 error. Higher rate limits can be requested via email.
• Data Privacy: xAI states that it does not train on customers’ API inputs or outputs without explicit permission. API requests and responses are temporarily stored for 30 days for audit purposes and then automatically deleted.
• API Endpoints: The REST API includes endpoints for chat completions (/v1/chat/completions), messages (Anthropic compatible – /v1/messages), image generations (/v1/images/generations), API key management (/v1/api-key), listing and retrieving models (/v1/models, /v1/language-models, /v1/image-generation-models), and tokenizing text (/v1/tokenize-text).
• Getting Started with the API: The process involves creating an xAI account, generating an API key via the xAI API Console, and then making requests using tools like curl or programming languages like Python (using the OpenAI SDK).
• Multimodal Support in API: While Grok has multimodal capabilities, the initial API (April 2025) is primarily text-focused. Future vision models are suggested but not yet fully live. Integration of images would likely involve including image data (as base64 or URL) within the messages array.
• Workflow Automation Integration: While native nodes for Grok3 might not yet exist in platforms like n8n, Make, and BuildShip (as of April 2025), users can typically integrate using generic HTTP request nodes or by adapting existing OpenAI/Anthropic nodes by changing the base URL and providing the xAI API key.

Quotes from Original Sources:

• David Andre on Grok Free: “in fact it might be the best AI model in the world because it currently is number one on the chatbot Arena defeating all the other state-of-the-art large language models.”
• David Andre on DeepSearch: “this makes gro free the perfect tool for real-time search since it can include tweets.”
• David Andre on closed source: “despite Elon positioning himself as the hero of Open Source as the defender you know the biggest advocate of Open Source somehow Gro Frey is completely closed source.”
• David Andre on unbiasedness: “yet again it has been proven that Elon is playing 4D chess when he purchased Twitter…thanks to the data all of the Twitter data has proven invaluable in training Gro free without it he would have no chance in being able to compete…”
• Steve Chambers (Grok3 API Briefing) on context window: “Up to 131,000 tokens (~100,000 words), enabling processing of large datasets or long-form content in a single call—perfect for document analysis or multi-step workflows.”
• Steve Chambers (Grok3 API Briefing) on coding: “Posts on X highlight Grok3 as an “insanely good coding model,” ideal for generating scripts, debugging, or automating software development tasks.”
• “I Tried GROK 3 For A Week…” video on speed: “not only is it one of the most intelligent AI chatbots in the world but it also operates with lightning speed and processes data with unmatched Precision.”
• “I Tried GROK 3 For A Week…” video on real-time data: “the thing that really sets Gro apart from the competition and makes it the first of its guid is the accuracy of the answers we get instead of relying on pre-trained data like Chad until a certain point in time Gro scans real time data from across the internet with every answer.”
• xAI Docs on Grok’s inspiration: “Inspired by the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Grok is a maximally truth-seeking AI that provides insightful, unfiltered truths about the universe.”
• xAI Docs on API purpose: “The xAI API is a toolkit for developers to integrate xAI’s Grok models into their own applications, the xAI API provides the building blocks to create new AI experiences.”

This briefing document summarizes the key information available across the provided sources, offering a comprehensive overview of Grok 3 and the xAI API as of the information presented.

Grok3 API FAQ

1. What is Grok and what makes it unique compared to other AI models like ChatGPT?

Grok is a family of large language models (LLMs) developed by xAI, inspired by “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” with a focus on truth-seeking and unfiltered information. What sets Grok apart, particularly the Grok 3 model, is its integration with real-time data, notably from X (formerly Twitter). This allows it to provide up-to-date answers and analyze current opinions and sentiments, a capability that traditional models relying on pre-trained data lack. Additionally, Grok is known for its speed, accuracy, and the ability to perform complex tasks like coding and reasoning, often outperforming other models in benchmarks. It also offers features like DeepSearch for comprehensive web and X searches, and a “think” mode for more deliberate reasoning. Furthermore, Grok boasts multimodal capabilities, including advanced image generation that is less censored than some competitors.

2. How can I access and use Grok 3?

Currently, access to Grok 3 is primarily through X (Twitter) for Premium+ subscribers and via the xAI API for developers. Within X, users with the Premium+ subscription can interact with Grok in the chat interface. For programmatic access, developers need to create an xAI account on the xAI Console (console.x.ai) and generate an API key. The xAI API is compatible with OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs, making integration relatively straightforward by changing the base URL to https://api.x.ai/v1 and using the xAI API key. While Grok 3 itself might not be immediately available in the API, the process for using other Grok models like Grok 2 is similar, and updates regarding Grok 3’s API availability can be found on the xAI Console.

3. What are the key features and capabilities of the Grok 3 API relevant to developers and automation professionals?

The Grok 3 API offers several key features:

• Advanced Reasoning: The Grok 3 models are designed for superior reasoning capabilities, making them suitable for complex automation tasks.
• Multimodal Support: While currently focused on text, the API has hints of future vision models for image processing.
• Large Context Window: Offering up to 131,000 tokens, Grok 3 can process extensive data in a single call, beneficial for document analysis and complex workflows.
• DeepSearch Integration: Although not directly accessible via the API at the moment, the underlying models power DeepSearch in the X interface, providing real-time web and X search capabilities.
• Coding Excellence: Grok 3 is highlighted as an exceptionally good coding model for generating scripts, debugging, and automating software development.
• Compatibility: The API is designed to be compatible with existing OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs, simplifying integration into current development workflows.

4. How is the Grok API priced, and are there any rate limits I should be aware of?

The Grok API uses a token-based pricing model. For the Grok 3 “beta” model in “Fast mode,” the pricing is $3.00 per million input tokens and $15.00 per million output tokens. The “mini” versions have different, more affordable pricing tiers. It’s important to note that costs might be higher than some competitors, but this is potentially justified by unique features like the large context window and DeepSearch capabilities. Each model has different rate limits to ensure fair usage, which can be checked on the xAI Console Models Page. Exceeding these limits will result in a 429 error. To request higher rate limits, users can email support@x.ai. Consumption is calculated in tokens, and the API provides tools like a tokenizer on the xAI Console to estimate token usage.

5. Does xAI use customer API requests for training its models?

No, xAI explicitly states that they never train on customer API inputs or outputs without explicit permission. API requests and responses are temporarily stored on their servers for 30 days for potential abuse or misuse auditing, after which this data is automatically deleted.

6. How does Grok handle censorship and bias compared to other models?

Grok is described as a “maximally truth-seeking AI” that aims to provide “insightful, unfiltered truths.” Tests have indicated that Grok can be less “woke” or biased on certain controversial topics compared to models like ChatGPT or Claude, especially regarding free speech. It is also noted to have less censorship in image generation, allowing for the creation of more diverse and potentially controversial images. However, it’s acknowledged that some level of bias or censoring might still be present in certain responses.

7. Can Grok access real-time information through its API?

Unlike the Grok experience on grok.com and within X, the Grok models accessed through the xAI API do not have direct, live internet connectivity. Their knowledge cutoff is November 17, 2024, for the Grok 3 family. Therefore, for applications requiring up-to-date information via the API, developers need to provide any relevant real-time data as context within the system prompt. The DeepSearch capability, which provides real-time web and X data access, is a feature of the Grok in X and grok.com services, not directly available as an API function for the Grok 3 models at this time.

8. What are the current limitations of the Grok 3 API that developers should be aware of?

Developers using the Grok 3 API should be aware of the following limitations:

• No Direct X Data Access: Despite xAI’s connection to X, the API does not currently offer a direct way to tap into X’s data stream.
• Knowledge Cutoff: The pretrained knowledge of Grok 3 stops at November 17, 2024, so it lacks awareness of events after this date unless provided in the context.
• Cost: The API can be pricier than alternatives like OpenAI’s GPT-4o, so cost-benefit analysis is important for specific use cases.
• No Real-time Internet Access: The API models are not connected to the internet, so real-time data needs to be provided as context.
• Multimodal Capabilities (Vision): While hinted at, full multimodal support, particularly for vision models, may not be fully live or readily accessible through the API as of the provided briefing date (April 2025). Developers should consult the latest xAI API documentation for updates on these features.