xAI
Grok Build on your phone, running on your own server
Grok Build is a terminal coding agent, and xAI hasn't documented a way to drive it from a phone yet. Maude runs it on a server you own and gives you approvals, files and git from iOS or Android.
Quick answer
xAI hasn't published an official remote control for Grok Build. A Remote Control feature linked to the Grok app is reportedly in testing, and community bridges exist. Maude runs Grok Build on a Linux or macOS server you own, installed and pinned over SSH and signed in by device code or with an xAI API key. You drive it from the phone, with permission prompts as push notifications.
Grok Build is xAI's coding agent for the terminal. It's newer than Claude Code or Codex and moving quickly, and remote use is still thin. This page covers what exists today, and how to run Grok Build on a server you control and drive it from your phone with Maude.
What Grok Build is
Grok Build is a CLI agent you install with one command (curl -fsSL https://x.ai/cli/install.sh | bash on macOS and Linux, irm https://x.ai/cli/install.ps1 | iex in Windows PowerShell). It runs as an interactive terminal UI. It also has a headless mode (grok -p … --output-format streaming-json) for scripts, and support for the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), so other applications can drive it.
A short history, because it matters for where you run it:
- May 2026: xAI announced Grok Build in early beta "for all SuperGrok and X Premium Plus subscribers".
- July 2026: security researchers reported that the CLI had been uploading users' Git repositories to xAI-controlled cloud storage. xAI then published the source under the Apache-2.0 licence at xai-org/grok-build (Simon Willison's write-up, The Decoder's coverage). The repository is synced from xAI's internal monorepo, and external contributions aren't accepted.
Whatever you make of that episode, it's one reason to run agents on a dedicated server rather than your laptop. A box that holds only the project you're working on, with no personal SSH keys or cloud credentials, limits what any agent can see. That applies to every agent, not just this one.
Remote options today
xAI doesn't document an official way to control Grok Build from a phone yet. According to a post on X, xAI is testing a Remote Control feature where you link your computer once through the CLI and then run Grok Build from the Grok app or a browser. Treat that as reported, not shipped. Until it lands, you have three choices:
| Option | How it works | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| SSH app plus tmux | Run grok in tmux on a server and attach from Termius, Blink or similar | Free and complete, but a terminal UI on a phone keyboard, and no notifications |
| Community bridges (grokrc, grok-remote and others) | Most drive Grok Build over ACP from a web or mobile client, often over Tailscale | Open source and free; you set up and secure the networking yourself |
| Maude | Installs and drives Grok Build on your server over ACP, reached through an encrypted outbound relay | Paid app; Grok Build sits next to your other agents with approvals and git |
If xAI ships an official remote, it will likely be the simplest choice for anyone who uses only Grok Build. Our comparison of coding agent phone apps covers the broader field.
Running Grok Build on a VPS
xAI ships Grok Build for macOS, Linux and Windows; Maude runs it on Linux and macOS servers, x86-64 or ARM. With Maude, you don't install it yourself:
- Add the server in the app by address, by pasting an
ssh …command, or by scanning the QR code fromcurl -fsSL https://maude.pilotdev.fr/setup | sh. - The app deploys its daemon over SSH. The daemon downloads the Grok Build binary at the version we have tested and checks it against a SHA-256 we recorded when we qualified it. xAI doesn't publish checksums, so this pins you to the exact build we tested.
- Maude starts Grok Build with its own auto-update turned off, so the version stays the one we tested until Maude updates it.
Each Maude session gets its own isolated Grok Build agent, driven over ACP (grok agent stdio). Sessions keep running on the server when your phone is locked or the app is closed. The daemon reaches the phone by dialling out to Maude's relay, end-to-end encrypted, so the server needs no open port.
From the phone you get:
- Permission modes: default (asks before acting), accept edits, plan and yolo, plus any extra modes Grok Build advertises.
- Approvals as cards in the chat, inline in the inbox, and as push notifications with Allow and Deny. Grok Build's own questions appear as answerable cards.
- Model and reasoning effort chips, using the models your account offers, and
/compact. - Files, Git and a terminal for each session: diff review hunk by hunk, commit, push, and pull requests through
gh.
Grok Build doesn't accept image input through its agent protocol. If you attach a photo or screenshot to a Grok Build session, Maude doesn't send it and tells you so. Use another agent for tasks that start from a screenshot, or hand the session over.
For keeping several agents running unattended, see running coding agents 24/7. For choosing a machine, see the best VPS for coding agents.
Plans and API keys
Maude offers two ways to sign Grok Build in from the phone:
- Sign in with your xAI account (device code). Maude runs Grok Build's device login on the server and shows you a short code. You confirm it on xAI's page on your phone. This uses your subscription. xAI's announcement names SuperGrok and X Premium+ subscribers; check xAI's current plans for prices and limits.
- An xAI API key. Set
XAI_API_KEYfrom the app, billed at xAI's API rates.
Maude doesn't include any Grok usage. You bring your own plan or key.
Hand off to another agent
Grok Build doesn't have to finish what it started. When a session is idle you can switch it to Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode or Antigravity. The new agent gets a brief with the plan, files touched, git state, recent conversation and your last instruction. Switching back resumes Grok Build's own session. For how the agents compare, see Claude Code vs Codex vs OpenCode, which also covers Grok Build.
Frequently asked questions
Does Grok Build have a mobile app?
Which plans include Grok Build?
Can Grok Build run headless?
grok -p and streaming JSON output, an Agent Client Protocol mode for other apps, and a device login for machines without a browser. Maude uses the ACP mode on your server.Is Grok Build open source?
What changed
- — Page published. No official Grok Build remote control documented by xAI as of this date; Remote Control reportedly in testing. Licence, install and login methods checked against docs.x.ai and the GitHub repo.
