Configure CLI channel, auto-update, and startup tips in Grok Build

The [cli] table in user config controls update checks on launch, which release channel you track, and whether startup tips show. Official: Settings reference, Headless & Scripting, CLI Reference.

Keys

Key	Values / default	What it does
auto_update	true / false (default on when unset)	Check for CLI updates on launch
channel	stable | alpha	Release channel the updater follows
show_tips	true / false	Startup tips at launch

User config only (~/.grok/config.toml or $GROK_HOME/config.toml). Project .grok/config.toml does not own [cli].

[cli]
auto_update = true
channel = "stable"
show_tips = true

One-off overrides

Skip the background update check for a single process:

grok --no-auto-update -p "list open TODOs"
export GROK_DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER=1

Install or switch channel with the updater:

grok update --stable
grok update --alpha
grok update --check

show_tips is separate from [ui.contextual_hints] (in-session tip rows) — see Control contextual hints.

When to change them

Turn auto_update off in CI, containers, and ACP scripts so a background check cannot stall the run. Pin channel = "alpha" only when you want pre-stable builds; keep stable for day-to-day. Set show_tips = false after you know the launch tips.

Pitfalls

• Putting [cli] in project .grok/config.toml — user config only.
• Expecting grok update --alpha alone to rewrite channel for every future launch — set channel in [cli] when you want the preference sticky.
• Confusing startup tips with contextual hints — different tables.