Grok Build

Run Grok Build as a Subshell agent.

Before you start

Install grok using the vendor instructions and authenticate it under the execution account. Ask an administrator to enable the harness under Settings → Server Settings → Plugins in the server dashboard's sidebar. Follow Install an agent CLI to confirm detection on the target node.

Launch

1. Open the new-subshell form using Launch a subshell, then choose Grok Build under Agent or terminal.
2. Select a saved preset if you want custom model, reasoning effort, or agent settings. Configure those settings under Settings → Presets before launching.
3. Choose the target node and an existing project directory.
4. Launch and confirm that the CLI opens normally.

The plugin detects grok through PATH and its known locations. GROK_PATH can identify the binary explicitly in the execution environment. Before changing that override, see Files and paths for configuration locations and service-environment guidance.

MCP and session behavior

Register Subshell once under the OS account where Grok runs. In the server dashboard's sidebar, choose Settings → Presets → New preset → New agent preset, select Grok Build, and use the commands under Cross-subshell comms. Those commands use the MCP executable configured for your installation.

For a node with subshell on PATH, registration looks like this:

grok mcp add --scope user subshell -- subshell mcp

If your preset sets GROK_HOME, run the registration command with that same value on the execution machine. Grok reads MCP configuration from that directory, so registration in the default ~/.grok won't apply. Use the same override when signing in or removing the registration. See Files and paths for environment configuration guidance.

The registration stores the command, not subshell credentials. Grok's MCP child inherits credentials from the subshell where it runs. Subshell disables Grok's shared leader mode to keep that identity tied to the current subshell. Don't add --leader to a preset; it conflicts with this isolation.

Presets support model, reasoning effort, agent, and optional tool auto-approval. Auto-approval allows tools to run without asking for permission. The plugin doesn't provide automatic conversation resumption, attention hooks, or subagent tracking. You can resume a specific conversation with Grok's --resume flag.

Subshell runs the real CLI rather than proxying its provider API. Provider configuration, usage limits, and CLI-specific permissions remain the agent's own settings.

Next steps

Read MCP configuration, Presets, and Agent and launch errors.