M08 · 10 min

API quickstart

Account → API key → SDK → first request with grok-4.5.

01
Create account & key
console.x.ai → API keys. export XAI_API_KEY=…
02
Install an SDK
Python: xai-sdk or openai. JS: ai + @ai-sdk/xai, or openai with baseURL https://api.x.ai/v1.
03
First text call
Model grok-4.5 for code and general agentic work.
04
First image call
Imagine models e.g. grok-imagine-image-quality for assets.

curl sketch (coding)

curl https://api.x.ai/v1/responses \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $XAI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "grok-4.5",
    "input": "Fix this function and explain the bug: function median(a){a.sort();return a[a.length/2]}"
  }'

Exercise

Key hygiene plan

Write how you’ll store XAI_API_KEY (env, secrets manager) and where you will never put it (git, screenshots, client bundles).

Storage plan
Forbidden places listed
Rotation idea (what if leaked)

Your notes