---
sidebar_position: 16
title: "xAI Grok OAuth (SuperGrok Subscription)"
description: "Sign in with your SuperGrok subscription to use Grok models in Hermes Agent — no API key required"
---

# xAI Grok OAuth (SuperGrok Subscription)

Hermes Agent supports xAI Grok through a browser-based OAuth login flow against [accounts.x.ai](https://accounts.x.ai), using your existing **SuperGrok subscription**. No `XAI_API_KEY` is required — log in once and Hermes automatically refreshes your session in the background.

The transport reuses the `codex_responses` adapter (xAI exposes a Responses-style endpoint), so reasoning, tool-calling, streaming, and prompt caching work without any adapter changes.

The same OAuth bearer token is also reused by every direct-to-xAI surface in Hermes — TTS, image generation, video generation, and transcription — so a single login covers all four.

## Overview

| Item | Value |
|------|-------|
| Provider ID | `xai-oauth` |
| Display name | xAI Grok OAuth (SuperGrok Subscription) |
| Auth type | Browser OAuth 2.0 PKCE (loopback callback) |
| Transport | xAI Responses API (`codex_responses`) |
| Default model | `grok-4.3` |
| Endpoint | `https://api.x.ai/v1` |
| Auth server | `https://accounts.x.ai` |
| Requires env var | No (`XAI_API_KEY` is **not** used for this provider) |
| Subscription | [SuperGrok](https://x.ai/grok) — see note below |

## Prerequisites

- Python 3.9+
- Hermes Agent installed
- An active SuperGrok subscription on your xAI account
- A browser available on the local machine (or use `--no-browser` for remote sessions)

:::warning xAI may restrict OAuth API access by tier
xAI's backend enforces its own allowlist on the OAuth API surface and has been seen to reject standard SuperGrok subscribers with `HTTP 403` (see issue [#26847](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues/26847)) even though the in-app subscription is active. If OAuth login succeeds in the browser but inference returns 403, set `XAI_API_KEY` and switch to the API-key path (`provider: xai`) — that surface is not subject to the same gating today.
:::

## Quick Start

```bash
# Launch the provider and model picker
hermes model
# → Select "xAI Grok OAuth (SuperGrok Subscription)" from the provider list
# → Hermes opens your browser to accounts.x.ai
# → Approve access in the browser
# → Pick a model (grok-4.3 is at the top)
# → Start chatting

hermes
```

After the first login, credentials are stored under `~/.hermes/auth.json` and refreshed automatically before they expire.

## Logging In Manually

You can trigger a login without going through the model picker:

```bash
hermes auth add xai-oauth
```

### Remote / headless sessions

On servers, containers, or SSH sessions where no browser is available, Hermes detects the remote environment and prints the authorization URL instead of opening a browser.

**Important:** the loopback listener still runs on the remote machine at `127.0.0.1:56121`. The xAI redirect needs to reach *that* listener, so opening the URL on your laptop will fail (`Could not establish connection. We couldn't reach your app.`) unless you forward the port:

```bash
# In a separate terminal on your local machine:
ssh -N -L 56121:127.0.0.1:56121 user@remote-host

# Then in your SSH session on the remote machine:
hermes auth add xai-oauth --no-browser
# Open the printed authorize URL in your local browser.
```

Through a jump box / bastion: add `-J jump-user@jump-host`.

See [OAuth over SSH / Remote Hosts](./oauth-over-ssh.md) for the full step-by-step, including ProxyJump chains, mosh/tmux, and ControlMaster gotchas.

### Browser-only remotes (Cloud Shell, Codespaces, EC2 Instance Connect)

If you don't have a regular SSH client (e.g. you're running Hermes inside GCP Cloud Shell, GitHub Codespaces, AWS EC2 Instance Connect, Gitpod, or another browser-based console), the `ssh -L` recipe above isn't available. Use `--manual-paste` instead — Hermes skips the loopback listener and lets you paste the failed callback URL straight from your browser:

```bash
hermes auth add xai-oauth --manual-paste
# Or via the model picker:
hermes model --manual-paste
```

See [OAuth over SSH / Remote Hosts](./oauth-over-ssh.md#browser-only-remote-cloud-shell--codespaces--ec2-instance-connect) for the full walkthrough. Regression fix for [#26923](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues/26923).

## How the Login Works

1. Hermes opens your browser to `accounts.x.ai`.
2. You sign in (or confirm your existing session) and approve access.
3. xAI redirects back to Hermes and the tokens are saved to `~/.hermes/auth.json`.
4. From then on, Hermes refreshes the access token in the background — you stay signed in until you `hermes auth remove xai-oauth` or revoke access from your xAI account settings.

## Checking Login Status

```bash
hermes doctor
```

The `◆ Auth Providers` section will show the current state of every provider, including `xai-oauth`.

## Switching Models

```bash
hermes model
# → Select "xAI Grok OAuth (SuperGrok Subscription)"
# → Pick from the model list (grok-4.3 is pinned to the top)
```

Or set the model directly:

```bash
hermes config set model.default grok-4.3
hermes config set model.provider xai-oauth
```

## Configuration Reference

After login, `~/.hermes/config.yaml` will contain:

```yaml
model:
  default: grok-4.3
  provider: xai-oauth
  base_url: https://api.x.ai/v1
```

### Provider aliases

All of the following resolve to `xai-oauth`:

```bash
hermes --provider xai-oauth        # canonical
hermes --provider grok-oauth       # alias
hermes --provider x-ai-oauth       # alias
hermes --provider xai-grok-oauth   # alias
```

## Direct-to-xAI Tools (TTS / Image / Video / Transcription / X Search)

Once you're logged in via OAuth, every direct-to-xAI tool reuses the same bearer token automatically — there is **no separate setup** unless you'd rather use an API key.

To pick a backend for each tool:

```bash
hermes tools
# → Text-to-Speech       → "xAI TTS"
# → Image Generation     → "xAI Grok Imagine (image)"
# → Video Generation     → "xAI Grok Imagine"
# → X (Twitter) Search   → "xAI Grok OAuth (SuperGrok Subscription)"
```

If OAuth tokens are already stored, the picker confirms it and skips the credential prompt. If neither OAuth nor `XAI_API_KEY` is set, the picker offers a 3-choice menu: OAuth login, paste API key, or skip.

:::note Video generation is off by default
The `video_gen` toolset is disabled by default. Enable it in `hermes tools` → `🎬 Video Generation` (press space) before the agent can call `video_generate`. Otherwise the agent may fall back to the bundled ComfyUI skill, which is also tagged for video generation.
:::

:::note X search is off by default
The `x_search` toolset is disabled by default. Enable it in `hermes tools` → `🐦 X (Twitter) Search` (press space) before the agent can call `x_search`. The tool routes through xAI's built-in `x_search` Responses API — it works with **either** your SuperGrok OAuth login or a paid `XAI_API_KEY`, and prefers OAuth when both are configured (uses your subscription quota instead of API spend). The tool schema is hidden from the model when no xAI credentials are configured, regardless of whether the toolset is enabled.
:::

### Models

| Tool | Model | Notes |
|------|-------|-------|
| Chat | `grok-4.3` | Default; auto-selected when you log in via OAuth |
| Chat | `grok-4.20-0309-reasoning` | Reasoning variant |
| Chat | `grok-4.20-0309-non-reasoning` | Non-reasoning variant |
| Chat | `grok-4.20-multi-agent-0309` | Multi-agent variant |
| Image | `grok-imagine-image` | Default; ~5–10 s |
| Image | `grok-imagine-image-quality` | Higher fidelity; ~10–20 s |
| Video | `grok-imagine-video` | Text-to-video and image-to-video; up to 7 reference images |
| TTS | (default voice) | xAI `/v1/tts` endpoint |

The chat catalog is derived live from the on-disk `models.dev` cache; new xAI releases appear automatically once that cache refreshes. `grok-4.3` is always pinned to the top of the list.

## Environment Variables

| Variable | Effect |
|----------|--------|
| `XAI_BASE_URL` | Override the default `https://api.x.ai/v1` endpoint (rarely needed). |
| `HERMES_INFERENCE_PROVIDER` | Force the active provider at runtime, e.g. `HERMES_INFERENCE_PROVIDER=xai-oauth hermes`. |

## Troubleshooting

### Token expired — not re-logging in automatically

Hermes refreshes the token before each session and again reactively on a 401. If refresh fails with `invalid_grant` (the refresh token was revoked, or the account was rotated), Hermes surfaces a typed re-auth message instead of crashing.

**Fix:** run `hermes auth add xai-oauth` again to start a fresh login.

### Authorization timed out

The loopback listener has a finite expiry window (default 180 s). If you don't approve the login in time, Hermes raises a timeout error.

**Fix:** re-run `hermes auth add xai-oauth` (or `hermes model`). The flow starts fresh.

### State mismatch (possible CSRF)

Hermes detected that the `state` value returned by the authorization server doesn't match what it sent.

**Fix:** re-run the login. If it persists, check for a proxy or redirect that is modifying the OAuth response.

### Logging in from a remote server

On SSH or container sessions Hermes prints the authorization URL instead of opening a browser. The loopback callback listener still binds `127.0.0.1:56121` on the remote host — your laptop's browser can't reach it without an SSH local-forward:

```bash
# Local machine, separate terminal:
ssh -N -L 56121:127.0.0.1:56121 user@remote-host

# Remote machine:
hermes auth add xai-oauth --no-browser
```

Full walkthrough (jump boxes, mosh/tmux, port conflicts): [OAuth over SSH / Remote Hosts](./oauth-over-ssh.md).

### HTTP 403 after a successful login (tier / entitlement)

OAuth completed in the browser, tokens are saved, but inference or token refresh returns `HTTP 403` with a message similar to *"The caller does not have permission to execute the specified operation"*.

This is **not** a stale-token problem — re-running `hermes model` won't change it. xAI's backend has been seen to restrict OAuth API access to specific SuperGrok tiers despite the in-app subscription being active (issue [#26847](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues/26847)).

**Fix:** set `XAI_API_KEY` and switch to the API-key path:

```bash
export XAI_API_KEY=xai-...
hermes config set model.provider xai
```

Or upgrade your subscription at [x.ai/grok](https://x.ai/grok) if the OAuth route is required.

### "No xAI credentials found" error at runtime

The auth store has no `xai-oauth` entry and no `XAI_API_KEY` is set. You haven't logged in yet, or the credential file was deleted.

**Fix:** run `hermes model` and pick the xAI Grok OAuth provider, or run `hermes auth add xai-oauth`.

## Logging Out

To remove all stored xAI Grok OAuth credentials:

```bash
hermes auth logout xai-oauth
```

This clears both the singleton OAuth entry in `auth.json` and any credential-pool rows for `xai-oauth`. Use `hermes auth remove xai-oauth <index|id|label>` if you only want to drop a single pool entry (run `hermes auth list xai-oauth` to see them).

## See Also

- [OAuth over SSH / Remote Hosts](./oauth-over-ssh.md) — required reading if Hermes is on a different machine than your browser
- [AI Providers reference](../integrations/providers.md)
- [Environment Variables](../reference/environment-variables.md)
- [Configuration](../user-guide/configuration.md)
- [Voice & TTS](../user-guide/features/tts.md)
