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Grok search

OpenClaw supports Grok as a web_search provider, using xAI web-grounded responses to produce AI-synthesized answers backed by live search results with citations.

Grok web search prefers your existing xAI OAuth sign-in when one is available. If no OAuth profile exists, the same xAI API key can also power the built-in x_search tool for X (formerly Twitter) post search and the code_execution tool. If you store the key under plugins.entries.xai.config.webSearch.apiKey, OpenClaw reuses it as a fallback for the bundled xAI model provider too.

For post-level X metrics such as reposts, replies, bookmarks, or views, prefer x_search with the exact post URL or status ID instead of a broad search query.

Onboarding and configure

Section titled “Onboarding and configure”

If you choose Grok during:

  • openclaw onboard
  • openclaw configure --section web

OpenClaw can use an existing xAI OAuth profile without prompting for a separate web-search key. If OAuth is not available, it falls back to xAI API-key setup. OpenClaw can also show a separate follow-up step to enable x_search with the same xAI credential. That follow-up:

  • only appears after you choose Grok for web_search
  • is not a separate top-level web-search provider choice
  • can optionally set the x_search model during the same flow

If you skip it, you can enable or change x_search later in config.

Sign in or get an API key

Section titled “Sign in or get an API key”

  1. Use xAI OAuth

    If you already signed in with xAI during onboarding or model auth, choose Grok as the web_search provider. No separate API key is required:

    Terminal window
    openclaw onboard --auth-choice xai-oauth
    openclaw config set tools.web.search.provider grok

  2. Use an API key fallback

    Get an API key from xAI when OAuth is unavailable or you intentionally want key-backed web-search config.

  3. Store the key

    Set XAI_API_KEY in the Gateway environment, or configure via:

    Terminal window
    openclaw configure --section web

Config

Section titled “Config”
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      xai: {
        config: {
          webSearch: {
            apiKey: "xai-...", // optional if xAI OAuth or XAI_API_KEY is available
            baseUrl: "https://api.x.ai/v1", // optional Responses API proxy/base URL override
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
  tools: {
    web: {
      search: {
        provider: "grok",
      },
    },
  },
}

Credential alternatives: sign in with openclaw models auth login --provider xai --method oauth, set XAI_API_KEY in the Gateway environment, or store plugins.entries.xai.config.webSearch.apiKey. For a gateway install, put env vars in ~/.openclaw/.env.

How it works

Section titled “How it works”

Grok uses xAI web-grounded responses to synthesize answers with inline citations, similar to Gemini’s Google Search grounding approach.

Supported parameters

Section titled “Supported parameters”

Grok search supports query.

count is accepted for shared web_search compatibility, but Grok still returns one synthesized answer with citations rather than an N-result list.

Provider-specific filters are not currently supported.

Grok uses a provider-specific 60 second default timeout because xAI Responses web-grounded searches can run longer than the shared web_search default. Set tools.web.search.timeoutSeconds to override it.

Base URL overrides

Section titled “Base URL overrides”

Set plugins.entries.xai.config.webSearch.baseUrl when Grok web search should route through an operator proxy or xAI-compatible Responses endpoint. OpenClaw posts to <baseUrl>/responses after trimming trailing slashes. x_search uses the same webSearch.baseUrl fallback unless plugins.entries.xai.config.xSearch.baseUrl is set.

Section titled “Related”