---
name: grok-delegate
description: >-
  Delegate a coding task to the Grok Build CLI as a background implementer, then review its diff and
  land it yourself. Use this whenever the user wants to hand implementation work to Grok — phrasings
  like "have Grok do X", "delegate this to Grok", "run it through Grok", "use Grok Build to
  implement/fix/refactor", or "have grok CLI do this" — or to run a queue of coding tasks through
  Grok while staying the reviewer. Prefer it when the user will review the diff and commit it
  themselves. DO NOT USE for tasks small enough to do inline, or when the user wants the code written
  directly without delegating.
license: MIT
compatibility: Requires the `grok` CLI (Grok Build) installed and authenticated (`grok login`, or `XAI_API_KEY`; beta access needs an eligible xAI subscription), Node 18+, and git. The orchestrating agent must be able to run shell commands and read files. Shell examples assume bash/zsh (macOS/Linux, or Git Bash/WSL on Windows).
metadata:
  version: 0.5.0
---

# Grok Delegate

You are the **orchestrator**. This skill lets you hand a bounded coding task to a separate
**implementer** — the Grok Build CLI (`grok`) — then review what it produced and land it yourself. You
write the brief and own the judgment; Grok does the typing under an explicit autonomy profile; you
verify and commit.

Nothing here is specific to one orchestrating agent. The loop needs only the ability to run a shell
command and read a file, so it works the same whether you are Claude Code, Cursor, OpenCode with a
selected model, or any comparable agent. (It is designed for Claude Code and Cursor; treat other
orchestrators as designed-for, not yet proven.)

## When NOT to use this

- The task is small enough to just do inline — delegation overhead is not worth it.
- The `grok` CLI is not installed, not authenticated, or the account lacks Grok Build beta access.
- You want to write the code yourself, or you only need a review without an implementer run.

## Prerequisites (check once)

1. `grok version` succeeds. If not, install on any platform with
   `npm i -g @xai-official/grok` (or use the installer from xAI's official Grok CLI docs) and
   authenticate (`grok login`, or `grok login --device-auth` on headless hosts, or set
   `XAI_API_KEY`).
2. **Confirm which `grok` is on PATH.** `command -v grok` shows the active binary and `grok version`
   its version — the relay records the version it ran into `result.json`, so a stale binary is visible
   after the fact.
3. You are in (or will point `--cd` at) the target git repository.

## The loop

Run these five steps per task. Steps 1, 4, and 5 are your judgment; 2 and 3 are mechanical.

### 1. Write the brief

Grok sees **only** the text you send — no orchestrator chat history, no shared context. Everything the
task needs goes in the brief: the goal, the current state, what to change, what to leave untouched,
the project's **actual** gate commands (discover them from the repo's CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md/Makefile —
do not assume), and a report contract. Tell Grok it will **not** commit (you will). Keep one task per
brief. Full guidance and a template: [references/writing-the-brief.md](references/writing-the-brief.md).

### 2. Dispatch

Send the brief to Grok with the bundled helper. It wraps `grok -p`, captures the run, and writes a
structured `result.json` — so your only job is "run a command, read a file." (`<skill-dir>` below is
this skill's installed directory — the folder containing this `SKILL.md`, i.e. the directory you loaded
the skill from. Claude Code prints it as "Base directory for this skill" when the skill loads; on other
orchestrators use that same directory — if unsure where it landed, run
`find ~ -name relay.mjs -path '*grok-delegate*'` and substitute the directory above it.)

```bash
node "<skill-dir>/scripts/relay.mjs" --brief brief.txt --cd /path/to/repo
# read-only (review/diagnosis; best-effort — verify touchedFiles): add --read-only
# continue the previous Grok session:       add --resume-last  (send only the delta brief)
# hard time limit (watchdog):               add --timeout 2h  (default: off; implementation runs routinely need 1-2h)
# see all options:                          node .../relay.mjs --help
```

The helper defaults to a write-capable (`workspace-write`) autonomy profile — `--always-approve` plus
`--sandbox workspace` — and writes its artifacts to a temp dir, so the repo under review stays clean.
It **never commits** — see step 5. Mechanics, flags, and the `result.json` shape:
[references/dispatch-and-poll.md](references/dispatch-and-poll.md).

### 3. Wait for completion

The helper blocks until Grok finishes, so back it with whatever your orchestrator offers and resume
when it returns:

- **Claude Code:** run the Bash call with `run_in_background: true`; you are notified on completion.
- **Plain shell / other agents:** run it in the foreground for short tasks, or background it and poll
  the result file — `… &` in bash/zsh (including Git Bash/WSL), or your shell's equivalent (`Start-Job`
  in PowerShell, `start /b` in cmd). The run is done when `result.json` exists with a `status`. (A
  pre-run usage error — bad args or an empty brief — instead exits with code 2 and a stderr message and
  writes no result file, so check the exit code too. A missing `grok` binary exits 127 but *does* write
  a `result.json` with status `grok_unavailable`.)

Do not trust progress trackers over reality: a run is finished when `result.json` is written and the
process has exited. Read the working tree, not a status line. The implementer's full report is
the `finalMessage` field in `result.json` (also printed in full on stdout between the report markers).

### 4. Review — do not trust the self-report

Grok's `result.json` includes its own summary and gate claims. **Re-verify, don't accept:**

- **Re-run the project's gates yourself** (the test/lint/build commands from step 1). Never take
  "gates passed" on faith.
- **Read the diff** against the brief: did Grok do what was asked, nothing more (scope creep) and
  nothing less? `touchedFiles` in the result is your starting point.
- **Run the relevant guard skills** on the diff if you have them installed (clean-code-guard,
  test-guard, etc. from `guard-skills`) — this skill produces the work; those skills judge it.
- For schema/migration changes, round-trip them; for removals, grep for dangling references.

Full checklist: [references/review-and-land.md](references/review-and-land.md).

### 5. Land it

**The orchestrator commits.** Only after the gates pass and the diff holds:

- Commit the verified work yourself, with a clear message.
- If it needs changes, send a delta brief with `--resume-last` (don't restate the whole task) and
  review again.

## Autonomy model

Grok's default permission mode is `ask`, which **blocks on approval prompts in a headless pipe**. The
relay therefore always sets autonomy explicitly:

| Relay flag | What Grok gets | Use when |
| --- | --- | --- |
| *(default)* | `--always-approve --sandbox workspace` | Normal implementation — writes scoped to the working tree |
| `--read-only` | `--sandbox read-only --permission-mode plan` | Review / diagnosis — **best-effort, not enforced** (see caveat below) |
| `--full-access` | `--always-approve --sandbox off` | Explicit opt-in when the task needs unrestricted tools |

`--always-approve` alone would approve *all* tools (writes, shell, network) — closer to unrestricted
than to a workspace-scoped write. Pairing it with `--sandbox workspace` is what keeps the default
safe. Reach for `--full-access` only when the human asks for it.

**`--read-only` is best-effort, not a hard guarantee.** The read-only sandbox restricts out-of-workspace
filesystem/network access, not grok's own edit tool, and headless `plan` mode is advisory — a run
verified here still wrote the working tree when told to. Use `--read-only` to *signal* review intent,
but always confirm `touchedFiles` afterward; treat the diff, not the flag, as the guarantee. The relay
automates a reporting tripwire: it compares parsed git porcelain and fingerprints the working-tree
identity and index entries of Git-visible paths that were already dirty. `readOnlyViolation` is `true`
when either signal proves a change, `false` when coverage is complete and detects none, and `null` when
coverage is incomplete. Ignored paths, submodule internals, perfect restores, and attribution of
concurrent changes remain outside it, so the diff
review stays the guarantee.

## Authorization model

Delegation is something the human opts into. Once they have ("run this queue", "proceed"), committing
verified, gate-passing work is the agreed contract — that is the whole point. Two limits on that
mandate: **surface, don't absorb** (report Grok's design decisions, defensible-but-unasked turns, and
non-blocking nitpicks rather than silently keeping them) and **stop for scope changes** (if correct
completion needs going beyond the brief, ask — don't expand the mandate yourself). The full treatment
is in [references/review-and-land.md](references/review-and-land.md).

## References

- [references/writing-the-brief.md](references/writing-the-brief.md) — how to write a brief Grok can
  execute blind: structure, XML blocks, the report contract, embedding the real gate commands.
- [references/dispatch-and-poll.md](references/dispatch-and-poll.md) — `relay.mjs` flags, the
  `result.json` contract, backgrounding per orchestrator, and recovery when a run misbehaves.
- [references/review-and-land.md](references/review-and-land.md) — the review checklist, the commit
  boundary, and the rework cycle via `--resume-last`.
- [references/multi-task-queues.md](references/multi-task-queues.md) — running a sequential queue:
  carrying constraints forward, progress tracking, and the end-of-run coherence check.