xai-org/grok-build, now open source

Per Simon Willison's Weblog, xAI's Grok Build coding agent CLI tool was uploading entire directories to Google Cloud buckets without explicit user consent. When one developer ran it in their home directory, they discovered it had uploaded their SSH keys, password manager database, documents, photos, and videos. After community backlash, xAI disabled the upload feature, deleted all previously retained data, and took an unusual step: they open-sourced the entire Grok Build codebase—more than 840,000 lines of Rust—under an Apache two-point-zero license. The company says this combination of transparency, deleted data, and local-first options puts Grok Build ahead of other major coding products in protecting user privacy.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton