Build by Grok VS Code Extension

Full Feature OverviewEverything the extension can do.

Build by Grok turns VS Code into a Grok-powered build workspace. It helps creators, students, educators, indie hackers, junior developers, and hands-on builders create, repair, inspect, test, preview, and ship projects directly from the editor.

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Core

Build and repair from plain language.

Build full websites from natural language prompts.
Edit existing codebases and repair broken files.
Inspect project structure and understand the workspace.
Run terminal commands inside the selected workspace.
Run verify/repair workflows for broken builds, tests, scripts, or installs.

Media

Use voice, screenshots, files, and images.

Generate and wire project images/assets using Grok Imagine.
Attach screenshots, images, and files for context.
Paste clipboard images into the prompt.
Use voice dictation to compose prompts.
Store generated images in .build-by-grok/images.

Workflow

Preview, summarize, and keep momentum.

Start and stop local development servers.
Open a live preview panel inside VS Code.
Keep optional local chat memory.
Show summaries, diff reports, token usage, and elapsed time.
Work in Default Mode or Full Access Mode.

Shipping

Push projects toward launch.

Dedicated agents for Python projects and slide decks.
Security-audit style reviews.
Git and GitHub helpers.
Cloudflare and Vercel workflows.
Real files stay visible.

What it can build

Websites, decks, Python projects, scripts, and deployable apps.

Main UI

The editor becomes the workspace.

Sidebar chat and optional popout panel.
+ menu for attachments and tools.
xAI API key button.
Start/Stop Server button.
Rocket send button.
Voice/mic mode for dictation.
Local preview panel.
Workspace selector for multi-root workspaces.
Recent chats when memory is enabled.
Status footer with token usage, elapsed time, and state.
Diff report and concise final summaries.

Execution modes

Choose guardrails or speed.

Default ModeSafer normal editing.

Lower-risk reads, edits, and safe commands with sensitive actions behind approval.

Full AccessAutonomous changes for faster work.

Applies edits and runs non-blocked workspace commands without per-action approval for the current session. Dangerous command patterns remain blocked.

Default Build Agent

General build, edit, inspect, and repair.

Astro sites
React/Vite apps
HTML/CSS/JS sites
Bug fixes
Build errors
Dependency issues
UI changes
Repo inspection

Python Agent

`/py` or `/python`.

Python scripts
Data generation
CSV files
Scientific calculations
Plots and charts
Lab reports
Pandas/Numpy/Scipy projects
Streamlit prep
Automation scripts

Slide Deck Agent

`/sd`, `/slide`, or `/slide-deck`.

Slidev decks
Marp decks
Markdown presentations
Image-heavy decks
Vercel-ready slide decks
Educational presentations
Product/investor decks

Multi-Agent Planner

`/ma` or `/multi-agent`.

Stubborn bugs
Architecture issues
Multi-step repo repairs
Larger debugging tasks
When the first pass is not enough

Verify and repair

Explicit workflows for broken projects.

Run compile/build/lint/test presets.
Detect failed verification commands.
Summarize the failure.
Hand failure to Grok for repair.
Apply fixes and rerun checks.
Show last failure and rerun last workflow.

Useful for broken builds, TypeScript errors, missing dependencies, bad imports, broken routes, Python ModuleNotFoundError, slide deck issues, deploy errors, and failed lint/test/compile checks.

Security audits

Review before publishing.

Exposed secrets
Unsafe command patterns
Risky config files
Dependency concerns
Auth/session risks
Webview/CSP concerns
Deployment config issues
Dangerous file handling
Unsafe scripting patterns
Common repo hygiene problems

Not a formal penetration test, but useful before publishing, deploying, or pushing to GitHub.

Major slash commands

Use focused commands when you know the workflow.

General

/help	Shows slash commands.
/reset	Resets state.
/settings	Opens settings.
/workspace	Selects active folder.
/sidebar	Opens sidebar.
/panel	Opens popout chat.
/terminal	Opens terminal.
/scm	Opens Source Control.
/history	Shows task and terminal history.
/tasks	Lists task presets.
/task <name>	Runs preset.
/run <command>	Runs and summarizes command.
/planner on/off	Controls planner behavior.

Preview/server

/dev	Starts detected dev server.
/serve	Alias for local server.
/preview	Opens preview.
/open	Alias for preview.
/streamlit <path>	Runs Streamlit app.
/st <path>	Alias.

Verify/repair

/verify	Runs verification presets.
/repair	Starts repair workflow.
/rerun	Reruns last workflow.
/failure	Shows last failure.
/security	Security audit.
/audit	Alias.

Python

/py <prompt>	Python Coding Agent.
/python	Alias.
/py deps basic	Basic lab deps.
/py deps science	Scientific deps.
/py run <path>	Runs Python.
/py check <path>	py_compile and fix syntax.

Focus: numpy, pandas, matplotlib, seaborn, scipy, statsmodels, sympy.

Slide decks

/sd <prompt>	Slide Deck Agent.
/slide	Alias.
/slide-deck	Alias.
/sd --slidev	Forces Slidev.
/sd --marp	Forces Marp.
/sd --vercel	Vercel-ready deck.

Multi-agent

/ma <prompt>	Multi-agent planner.
/multi-agent	Alias.
/multiagent	Alias.
/ma --4/--8/--12	Plan size.
/ma --low/medium/high/xhigh	Reasoning effort.
/muti-agent	Typo-tolerant alias.

Git and GitHub

/git status	Status.
/git diff [path]	Unstaged diff.
/git diff-staged [path]	Staged diff.
/git stage / stage-all	Stage files.
/git unstage / unstage-all	Unstage files.
/git login / whoami	GitHub auth.
/git init/start/bootstrap	Initialize git flow.
/git branch / checkout / checkout-new	Branch workflows.
/git commit / acp	Commit and push.
/git remote add/set	Remote management.
/git push/pull/sync	Remote sync.
/git publish github <repo>	Create/publish repo.
/git pr create	Create pull request.

Cloudflare

/cf help	Help.
/cf login/logout/whoami	Auth/account.
/cf update	Update Wrangler.
/cf deploy	Deploy Worker.
/cf pages create/deploy	Pages projects.
/cf worker init	Worker project.
/cf db/table/kv/r2	D1, SQL, KV, R2 helpers.
/cf wrangler	Run Wrangler.

Aliases: /cf, /cloudflare.

Vercel

/vc help	Help and project state.
/vc login/logout/whoami	Auth.
/vc link	Link local folder.
/vc deploy	Preview deploy.
/vc deploy prod	Production deploy.
/vc dev	Local dev.
/vc logs/inspect/open	Inspect deployment.
/vc vercel	Run Vercel CLI.

Aliases: /vc, /vercel.

Command Palette

VS Code commands are exposed directly.

Preview support

Detect and open local previews.

Astro dev server
Vite/React dev server
Slidev preview
Static HTML via Python HTTP server
npm dev/start/serve/preview
Task presets
Streamlit runner

Technical

Current package version: 4.20.141.

Configurable Grok executor model.
Configurable image model.
xAI API key stored in VS Code Secret Storage.
Uses selected workspace folder.
Multi-root uses active folder selection.

Settings and safety

Configurable, with dangerous commands blocked.

Settings include model, base URL, command timeouts, repair iterations, output limits, approval rules, command policy, safe prefixes, blocked patterns, auto-stage, sensitive history, and task presets.
Safe defaults include npm/pnpm/yarn build/lint/test/dev, git status/diff/add/rev-parse, ls, cat, pwd, echo, and rg.
Blocked patterns include rm -rf /, sudo, mkfs, dd, shutdown, reboot, poweroff, halt, disk erase, and drive formatting.

Get it today

Turn VS Code into a Grok-powered build workspace.

Build by Grok makes real project work more approachable without hiding files, commands, previews, or code changes.

Get Build by Grok - $9 Create xAI API Key

Build by Grok VSCode Extension: 4.20.141