the provider catalog

xAI Grok

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[{"slug":"grok-3","id":"grok-3","aliases":["grok-3"]},{"slug":"grok-3-mini-fast","id":"grok-3-mini-fast","aliases":["mini"]}]

Grok models behind an OpenAI-compatible API, keys from the x.ai console. One provider/model line moves a workflow here or away again: the same file runs on every provider the catalog names, and swapping is a one-word diff. Machines read the catalog; the binary answers nika catalog.

2pinned modelsaliases pin exact upstream ids
cloudfamilybring your own key; it rides an env var and stays yours
XAI_API_KEYthe key rides herean env var, never a config file
openai-chatwire dialectthe adapter speaks it

the wire

cloud · bring your own key; it rides an env var and stays yours

A workflow names this provider in the model line (model: xai/grok-3), and the engine speaks openai-chat on the wire. The key rides XAI_API_KEY in the environment, never a config file, never the workflow. The provider id also answers to grok.

default: grok-3
cheap: grok-3-mini-fast
dialect: openai-chat
tags: frontier · function-calling · reasoning · streaming · structured-output · vision · web-search

the models

2 pins

Aliases are what the file may write; the engine pins each one to an exact upstream id, so a run stays reproducible after a vendor rotates names.

grok-3grok-3ctx 131k · json:schema
minigrok-3-mini-fastctx 131k · reasoning · json:schema$0.6/M in · $4/M out

prices are the ENGINE's, not ours: the audit's pricing snapshot (models.dev · pinned 2026-07-07): the same table nika check prices your ceiling with.

in the released catalog

2 rooms

The wire models this provider serves in the released binary's catalog · each one is a room with its seats, exact prices and measured energy.

grok-3as grok-3
grok-3-mini-fastas mini

the whole register: /catalog/models · what the released binary knows, vendored at the engine pin.

in a real file

a complete workflow · shown whole

xai.nika.yaml

1nika: v12workflow:3  id: retried-verdict4  description: "transient network noise is policy, not a crash — backoff rides the file"56tasks:7  judge:8    retry:9      max_attempts: 310      backoff_ms: 50011      backoff_strategy: exponential12    ◇infer:13      model: xai/grok-3-mini-fast14      max_tokens: 10015      prompt: |16        Yes or no, with one reason: should a failed retry17        surface the first error or the last?1819outputs:20  verdict: ${{ tasks.judge.output }}21

check-green against the released engine · 1 task · 1 wave · worst-case ceiling $0.0012 · the drift gate re-proves this copy on every test run · open it in the playground →

get set up

keys at console.x.ai

1Create a key in the console.
2The key rides the environment, never the file export XAI_API_KEY=…

Pick it for fast reasoning tiers with current-events flavor. Then prove the seat: nika doctor names every provider this binary can reach.

swap it

10 more cloud seats

Moving off xAI Grok is editing one line. The rest of the file (tasks, permits, outputs, the trace) does not change. The register orders the catalog local first; beyond it the engine embeds 21 more OpenAI-compatible endpoints.

model: xai/grok-3 model: ollama/qwen3.5:4bthe whole migration · nothing else moves

cross-references

the words that meet it

[]

where it lives

Try it in the playground, or install and go local first. Read the spec →