Article · 2026-07-15 · 6 moments

xai-org/grok-build, now open source

xai-org/grok-build, now open source xAI's grok CLI tool had severe community backlash yesterday when it became apparent that running the command in a directory could upload that entire directory to xAI's Google Cloud buckets. One user reported running it in their home directory and seeing it upload "my SSH keys, my password manager database, my documents, photos, videos, everything". I've not seen an official explanation for why it was doing this, but xAI did respond to the feedback (Musk: "As ✦ AI generated

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GUEST Elon Musk GUEST xAI HOST Simon Willison

Claim◆

All user data that xAI had uploaded prior to this point will be completely and utterly deleted, as a precautionary measure.

Elon Musk responded to the backlash by promising that all previously uploaded user data would be entirely deleted.

transcript

Elon Musk: I've not seen an official explanation for why it was doing this, but xAI did respond to the feedback (Musk: "As a precautionary measure, all user data that was uploaded to SpaceXAI before now will be completely and utterly deleted.") and have disabled the feature.

provides context · 1

Claim

By deleting all retained data, turning off retention by default, and open-sourcing the harness, xAI now offers complete user privacy, including the option to run Grok Build fully local with your own inference.

xAI's announcement thread claims that deleted retained data, default-off retention, and an open-source, locally-runnable harness together deliver complete user privacy.

transcript

xAI: With all retained data deleted, retention default off, and an open-source harness, we are offering complete user privacy. You can also run Grok Build fully open-sourced and local-first with your own inference.

provides context · 1supports · 1

Data◆

Grok Build's codebase is 844,530 lines of Rust, comparable in scale to OpenAI Codex's 950,933 lines, revealing that terminal coding agents are far more complex than previously assumed.

Simon Willison measured Grok Build at 844,530 lines of Rust (about 3% vendored) and compares it to Codex's 950,933 lines, concluding terminal coding agents are more complex than he'd realized.

transcript

Simon Willison: It's quite a surprising codebase! Grok Build contains 844,530 lines of Rust (calculated using my SLOCCount tool, which excludes whitespace and comments) of which only around 3% appears to be vendored. For comparison, openai/codex is 950,933 lines of Rust. It looks like terminal coding agents are significantly more complex than I had realized.

Example

Grok Build's tool implementations include code imitated or directly ported from other coding agents, such as Codex's apply_patch and OpenCode's bash, edit, and other tools, as credited in its THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md file.

Simon Willison notes that Grok Build bundles tool implementations copied from Codex and OpenCode, credited via THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md, though it's unclear how or when Grok switches between them.

transcript

Simon Willison: xai-grok-tools/src/implementations includes tool implementations imitated from other coding agents - the Codex apply_patch, grep_files, list_dir, and read_dir tools, and OpenCode's bash, edit, glob, grep, read, skill, todowrite and write. The xai-grok-tools/THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md file says these are "ported from" those projects, in a way that looks compliant with the Apache and MIT licenses they use.

Anecdote◆

Running xAI's grok CLI tool in a directory could silently upload that entire directory—including sensitive files like SSH keys and password manager databases—to xAI's Google Cloud buckets.

xAI's grok CLI was found to upload entire directories, including highly sensitive files, to xAI's cloud storage, sparking severe community backlash.

transcript

Simon Willison: xAI's grok CLI tool had severe community backlash yesterday when it became apparent that running the command in a directory could upload that entire directory to xAI's Google Cloud buckets. One user reported running it in their home directory and seeing it upload "my SSH keys, my password manager database, my documents, photos, videos, everything".

Context

xAI's decision to open-source the entire Grok Build codebase under Apache 2.0 just hours after the backlash was presumably an attempt to regain user trust.

Simon Willison suggests xAI's rapid open-sourcing of Grok Build was a trust-rebuilding move following the data-upload controversy.

transcript

Simon Willison: A few hours ago they also released the entire Grok Build codebase under an Apache 2.0 license - presumably to try and regain trust from their users. From their thread announcing the new repository:

provides context · 1

Highlight slides

xAI Promises Full Data Deletion✦ from: All user data that xAI had uploaded prior to this point will be completely and utterly deleted, as a precautionary measure.Grok CLI Silently Uploads Entire Directories✦ from: Running xAI's grok CLI tool in a directory could silently upload that entire directory—including sensitive files like SSH keys and password manager databases—to xAI's Google Cloud buckets.Grok Build's Surprising Scale✦ from: Grok Build's codebase is 844,530 lines of Rust, comparable in scale to OpenAI Codex's 950,933 lines, revealing that terminal coding agents are far more complex than previously assumed.Response Actions Taken✦ from: All user data that xAI had uploaded prior to this point will be completely and utterly deleted, as a precautionary measure.What Got Exposed✦ from: Running xAI's grok CLI tool in a directory could silently upload that entire directory—including sensitive files like SSH keys and password manager databases—to xAI's Google Cloud buckets.Grok Build vs. Codex: Lines of Rust✦ from: Grok Build's codebase is 844,530 lines of Rust, comparable in scale to OpenAI Codex's 950,933 lines, revealing that terminal coding agents are far more complex than previously assumed.

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