# Agent mode (ACP) and IDE integration

Agent mode runs Grok as a long-lived server that clients talk to over [ACP](https://agentclientprotocol.com) (JSON-RPC). Use it from IDEs, SDKs, eval harnesses, and custom apps. For a one-shot prompt that prints and exits, use `grok -p` instead ([headless mode](14-headless-mode.md)).

---

## Automation and SDKs

For scripts, CI, evals, and agent servers, start with always-approve so tools run without interactive permission prompts. Deny rules and hooks still apply.

```bash
# stdio (local process / many SDKs)
grok agent --always-approve stdio

# WebSocket server
grok agent --always-approve serve --bind 127.0.0.1:2419 --secret <token>
```

You can also set always-approve per session on `session/new`:

```json
{
  "cwd": "/path/to/project",
  "mcpServers": [],
  "_meta": { "yoloMode": true }
}
```

Interactive TUI users typically leave the default ask mode (or use auto). See [Permissions and safety](22-permissions-and-safety.md).

---

## What is ACP?

The [Agent Client Protocol (ACP)](https://agentclientprotocol.com) defines how clients talk to coding agents over JSON-RPC. With Grok it covers:

- Sessions (create, load, resume)
- Prompts and streamed replies
- Tool call updates
- Reasoning / thought streams
- Permission prompts when the session is not always-approve

---

## stdio transport

stdio is the common local integration path. The agent speaks JSON-RPC on stdin and stdout:

```bash
grok agent --always-approve stdio
```

Typical clients: IDE extensions (Zed, Neovim, Emacs), custom tools, and ACP SDKs.

### Options

Agent options apply to every transport (`stdio`, `serve`, `headless`, `leader`). They go after `agent` and before the mode name. Mode-specific flags go after the mode (for example `serve --bind`).

```bash
grok agent --always-approve --model grok-build stdio
grok agent --always-approve serve --bind 127.0.0.1:2419 --secret <token>
```

| Flag | Description |
| ---- | ----------- |
| `-m, --model <MODEL>` | Model ID (for example `grok-build`). |
| `--always-approve` | Run without interactive tool-permission prompts. Alias: `--yolo`. |
| `--reauth` | Authenticate before the agent starts. |
| `--agent-profile <PATH>` | Load an agent profile from a file. |
| `--leader` / `--no-leader` | Connect to a shared leader process, or force a local agent. |

---

## Server mode

```bash
grok agent --always-approve serve --bind 127.0.0.1:2419 --secret <token>
```

Clients connect over WebSocket and authenticate with the secret token. If you omit `--secret`, the agent prints a generated token at startup, or set `GROK_AGENT_SECRET`. The process keeps state across client reconnects. Permissions match other entry points; see [Permissions and safety](22-permissions-and-safety.md).

---

## WebSocket relay

To reach the agent over the internet, connect the agent to a relay and point browsers at the same relay:

```bash
grok agent --always-approve headless --grok-ws-url wss://your-relay.example.com/ws
```

---

## ACP protocol basics

Communication follows the JSON-RPC 2.0 format. A typical session lifecycle:

1. **Initialize** -- client sends `initialize` with capabilities
2. **Create session** -- client sends `session/new` with working directory
3. **Send prompts** -- client sends `session/prompt` with user messages
4. **Receive updates** -- agent sends `session/update` notifications with streamed content
5. **Handle permissions** -- agent may request tool execution approval (or allow or deny based on permission mode)

### Architecture

```
+------------------------------------------+
|           ACP Client                     |
|  (IDE, Editor, Custom Application)       |
+-------------------+----------------------+
                    | JSON-RPC over stdio
+-------------------v----------------------+
|           grok agent stdio               |
|                                          |
|  +---------+  +---------+  +---------+   |
|  | Session |  |  Tools  |  |   MCP   |   |
|  | Manager |  | Registry|  | Servers |   |
|  +---------+  +---------+  +---------+   |
+------------------------------------------+
```

---

## Streaming updates

ACP streams structured events. Each `session/update` notification carries a `sessionUpdate` field that identifies the update type:

| `sessionUpdate` value | Description                                            |
| --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| `agent_message_chunk` | A chunk of the agent's response text.                 |
| `agent_thought_chunk` | A chunk of the agent's internal reasoning.            |
| `tool_call`           | A new tool invocation (title, kind, status, input).   |
| `tool_call_update`    | A status or result update for an in-flight tool call. |
| `plan`                | The agent's execution plan.                           |

Each update names its type, so a client can render distinct panels for reasoning, tool calls, and response text.

---

## Extension methods

Beyond the base ACP protocol, Grok defines extension methods under the `x.ai/` prefix for SpaceXAI-specific functionality. These cover:

| Category                   | Prefix               | Examples                                         |
| -------------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| **Filesystem**             | `x.ai/fs/*`          | `list`, `exists`, `read_file`, `write_file`      |
| **Git**                    | `x.ai/git/*`         | `status`, `stage`, `commit`, `diffs`, `discard`  |
| **Git Worktree**           | `x.ai/git/worktree/*`| `create`, `remove`, `apply`, `list`, `gc`        |
| **Search**                 | `x.ai/search/*`      | `fuzzy/open`, `fuzzy/change`, `content`          |
| **Terminal**               | `x.ai/terminal/*`    | `create`, `kill`, `output`, `wait_for_exit`      |
| **Session Management**     | `x.ai/session/*`     | `fork`, `resolve_local_for_worktree_resume`      |
| **Conversation & History** | `x.ai/*`             | `prompt_history`, `rewind/*`, `compact_conversation` |
| **Authentication**         | `x.ai/auth/*`        | `get_url`, `submit_code`                         |
| **Feedback & Telemetry**   | `x.ai/*`             | `feedback`, `telemetry/*`                        |

The tables here show representative methods in each category. The `x.ai/*` set is SpaceXAI-specific and may expand across releases, so treat it as non-exhaustive and discover the available methods from the agent's `initialize` response.

### Notifications (agent to client)

The agent sends push notifications to clients for real-time updates:

| Notification               | Description                          |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| `x.ai/search/fuzzy/status` | Fuzzy search results update          |
| `x.ai/git/worktree/status` | Worktree creation progress           |
| `x.ai/fs_notify`           | Filesystem change notification       |
| `x.ai/fs/index`            | Full file index update               |
| `x.ai/fs/index/delta`      | Incremental file index update        |
| `x.ai/session_notification`| Session-specific updates (diff review, retry state, auto-compact) |
| `x.ai/session/update`      | Session update (tool calls, content) |

---

## Session `_meta` options

Optional fields on `session/new`:

| Field | Description |
| ----- | ----------- |
| `rules` | Extra rules appended to the system prompt. |
| `systemPromptOverride` | Replacement system prompt. |
| `agentProfile` | Agent profile name or JSON object. |
| `yoloMode` | When `true`, always-approve for this session. |
| `autoMode` | When `true`, auto permission mode for this session. Superseded when always-approve is already on. |

```json
{
  "cwd": "/path/to/project",
  "mcpServers": [],
  "_meta": { "yoloMode": true }
}
```

---

## ACP SDKs

Official SDK libraries are available for multiple languages:

| Language   | Package                                                                                  |
| ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| TypeScript | [`@agentclientprotocol/sdk`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@agentclientprotocol/sdk)     |
| Rust       | [`agent-client-protocol`](https://crates.io/crates/agent-client-protocol)                |
| Python     | [`agent-client-protocol-python`](https://github.com/PsiACE/agent-client-protocol-python) |
| Go         | [`acp-go-sdk`](https://github.com/coder/acp-go-sdk)                                     |
| Kotlin     | [`acp`](https://github.com/agentclientprotocol/kotlin-sdk)                               |

---

## Compatible clients

| Client                                                   | Status      |
| -------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- |
| [Zed](https://zed.dev/docs/ai/external-agents)           | Supported   |
| [Neovim](https://neovim.io) (CodeCompanion, avante.nvim) | Supported   |
| [Emacs](https://github.com/xenodium/agent-shell)         | Supported   |
| [marimo notebook](https://github.com/marimo-team/marimo) | Supported   |
| JetBrains                                                | Coming soon |

---

## Integration example: a TypeScript ACP client

```typescript
import { spawn, ChildProcess } from "child_process";
import * as readline from "readline";

class GrokACPChat {
  private proc!: ChildProcess;
  private sessionId!: string;
  private rl!: readline.Interface;

  constructor(private cwd = ".") {}

  async init() {
    this.proc = spawn("grok", ["agent", "--always-approve", "stdio"]);
    this.rl = readline.createInterface({ input: this.proc.stdout! });

    await this.request("initialize", {
      protocolVersion: 1,
      clientCapabilities: {
        fs: { readTextFile: true, writeTextFile: true },
        terminal: true,
      },
    });

    const { sessionId } = await this.request("session/new", {
      cwd: this.cwd,
      mcpServers: [],
      _meta: { yoloMode: true },
    });
    this.sessionId = sessionId;
    return this;
  }

  private async request(method: string, params: any): Promise<any> {
    return new Promise((resolve) => {
      const msg = JSON.stringify({ jsonrpc: "2.0", id: 1, method, params });
      this.proc.stdin!.write(msg + "\n");

      this.rl.once("line", (line) => {
        resolve(JSON.parse(line).result || {});
      });
    });
  }

  async *streamPrompt(text: string) {
    const msg = JSON.stringify({
      jsonrpc: "2.0",
      id: 1,
      method: "session/prompt",
      params: {
        sessionId: this.sessionId,
        prompt: [{ type: "text", text }],
      },
    });
    this.proc.stdin!.write(msg + "\n");

    for await (const line of this.rl) {
      const data = JSON.parse(line);

      if (data.method === "session/update") {
        const update = data.params.update;
        yield update; // { sessionUpdate, content, title, ... }
      } else if (data.result) {
        break; // Final response
      }
    }
  }
}

// Usage
const client = await new GrokACPChat(".").init();

for await (const update of client.streamPrompt("List the files in this project")) {
  switch (update.sessionUpdate) {
    case "agent_message_chunk":
      process.stdout.write(update.content?.text || "");
      break;
    case "agent_thought_chunk":
      console.log(`\n[Thinking: ${update.content?.text}]`);
      break;
    case "tool_call":
      console.log(`\n[Tool: ${update.title}]`);
      break;
  }
}
```

---

## Resources

- [ACP Specification](https://agentclientprotocol.com/protocol/prompt-turn)
- [Protocol Introduction](https://agentclientprotocol.com/overview/introduction)