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Grok Build integration

Copy for LLM

Grok Build is xAI's agentic coding tool that runs in your terminal. It reads and edits your codebase, runs commands, and completes multi-step development tasks.

The Apify plugin for Grok Build connects Grok Build to Apify's library of Actors and bundles:

  • The Apify MCP server for searching Apify Store, running Actors, and retrieving datasets through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
  • An apify routing agent that picks the right tool or skill from a natural-language request.
  • Five built-in skills for common workflows (see Bundled skills below).

This guide covers installation from the plugin's GitHub repository.

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Prerequisites

  • An Apify account - sign up for free if you don't have one.
  • Grok Build - installed and authenticated locally.
  • Apify CLI - installed and logged in, for the scraping, Actor development, and actorization skills.

Install the plugin

  1. Install the plugin from its GitHub repository:

    grok plugin install apify/apify-grok-build-plugin

  2. Confirm that you trust the plugin when Grok Build prompts you.

  3. Check that the plugin is installed:

    grok plugin list

    The apify plugin appears in the list.

Authenticate to Apify

The plugin bundles the Apify MCP server. Read-only tools like searching Apify Store and fetching Actor details work without signing in, but you need to authenticate to run Actors and access your account data.

  1. Start Grok Build:

    grok

  2. Run /mcps to open the MCP tab. The Apify MCP server appears with a [needs auth] label.

  3. Select the Apify MCP server and press i to start the OAuth flow. Grok Build opens a browser tab for Apify.

  4. Review the permissions and select Allow access. Apify requests access to your profile and to run Actors and manage your runs and storage on your behalf.

  5. After you finish the OAuth flow, the [needs auth] label disappears and the Apify MCP server is connected.

Session persistence

The connection stays authenticated for future sessions. You can revoke access at any time in Apify Console > Settings > Integrations.

Run your first prompt

Describe what you want in natural language. The apify agent routes the request to the right Apify MCP tool or skill, so you don't need to name tools yourself.

Use Apify to find a good Actor for scraping Google Maps places. Show me the best option, its input requirements, pricing model, and what kind of dataset output it returns. Do not run the Actor yet.

Grok Build searches Apify Store, fetches the top Actor's details through the Apify MCP server, and summarizes its inputs, pricing, and output - all without running the Actor.

Bundled skills

SkillDescription
apify-ultimate-scraperExtraction using existing Actors for multi-step scraping and lead-generation workflows.
apify-actor-developmentFull Actor lifecycle - template selection, development, local testing, and deployment with apify push.
apify-actorizationConverts existing JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, or CLI projects into Apify Actors.
apify-generate-output-schemaGenerates dataset and key-value store schemas for existing Actors.
apify-sdk-integrationIntegrates Actor execution into applications using the apify-client package.

Example prompts that route to specific skills:

To run apify-ultimate-scraper:

Find 10 highly rated coffee shops in Seattle with name, address, rating, phone, and website.

To run apify-actor-development:

Create an Apify Actor that accepts a startUrl and maxPages input, crawls the site, and stores each page title and URL.

To run apify-sdk-integration:

Add Apify to this project. The Node.js API route should run an Actor and return dataset items as JSON.

Troubleshooting

Browser doesn't open, or OAuth fails

If the browser doesn't open automatically, copy the OAuth URL shown in the terminal and paste it into your browser manually.

If the OAuth flow still can't complete, for example because no browser is available on the machine, the Apify MCP server stays unauthenticated. You can still work without MCP: use the CLI and SDK skills instead, which authenticate through the Apify CLI:

apify login

In a non-interactive environment, pass an API token from Apify Console > Settings > Integrations instead:

apify login -t <YOUR_API_TOKEN>

Limitations

  • Long-running Actors may exceed the time a single tool call waits for completion. Reduce the scope or split the work across multiple prompts.
  • Each Actor run consumes Apify platform usage from your plan in addition to any Grok usage. See Billing for details.
  • Skills that edit files in your project (Actor development, actorization, SDK integration) make local changes - review them before deploying or committing.

Resources