eyaltoledano/claude-task-master · error · APICallError

Grok CLI failed with exit code ${result.exitCode}: ${result.

Error message

Grok CLI failed with exit code ${result.exitCode}: ${result.stderr || 'Unknown error'}

What it means

This is the generic failure path for a nonzero Grok CLI exit that is NOT an authentication problem. doGenerate throws an API-call error including the exit code, stderr, stdout, and a 200-char prompt excerpt, marked non-retryable. It means the CLI itself ran and failed — bad request, quota, network error inside the CLI, or invalid arguments.

Source

Thrown at packages/ai-sdk-provider-grok-cli/src/grok-cli-language-model.ts:315

		if (this.settings.workingDirectory) {
			args.push('--directory', this.settings.workingDirectory);
		}

		try {
			const result = await this.executeGrokCli(args, { apiKey });

			if (result.exitCode !== 0) {
				// Handle authentication errors
				if (
					result.stderr.toLowerCase().includes('unauthorized') ||
					result.stderr.toLowerCase().includes('authentication')
				) {
					throw createAuthenticationError({
						message: `Grok CLI authentication failed: ${result.stderr}`
					});
				}

				throw createAPICallError({
					message: `Grok CLI failed with exit code ${result.exitCode}: ${result.stderr || 'Unknown error'}`,
					exitCode: result.exitCode,
					stderr: result.stderr,
					stdout: result.stdout,
					promptExcerpt: prompt.substring(0, 200),
					isRetryable: false
				});
			}

			// Parse response
			const response = convertFromGrokCliResponse(result.stdout);
			let text = response.text || '';

			// Extract JSON if in object-json mode
			const isObjectJson = (
				o: unknown
			): o is { mode: { type: 'object-json' } } =>
				!!o &&

View on GitHub (pinned to c0c98d367c)

Solutions

1. Read stderr/exitCode in the error payload to identify the root cause (quota, bad request, crash).
2. Update the CLI: npm update -g @vibe-kit/grok-cli and retry, since older versions break against API changes.
3. Check rate limits/quota on your Grok account and back off before retrying.
4. Reproduce manually: run the same prompt through the `grok` CLI directly to see the raw error.
5. Verify network/proxy configuration allows the CLI to reach the Grok API.

Example fix

// before (shell)
npm list -g @vibe-kit/grok-cli   // outdated version, exit code 1
// after (shell)
npm update -g @vibe-kit/grok-cli && node app.js

function isGrokApiCallError(e) {
  return e instanceof Error && /Grok CLI failed with exit code/.test(e.message);
}

try {
  const result = await model.doGenerate({ prompt });
} catch (e) {
  if (isGrokApiCallError(e)) {
    console.error(`Grok CLI exited ${e.exitCode ?? '?'}: ${e.stderr ?? e.message}`);
    // inspect stderr: quota -> backoff; bad request -> fix prompt/CLI version
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: doGenerate spawns the Grok CLI, which exits nonzero with stderr not containing 'unauthorized'/'authentication' — e.g. rate limits, malformed prompt/flags, CLI crash, network failure within the CLI.

Common situations: Exhausted Grok rate limits or quota; passing prompts the CLI rejects; outdated CLI version incompatible with current API; network/proxy restrictions in corporate environments; prompt content triggering provider-side refusals.

Related errors

• Grok CLI authentication failed: ${result.stderr}
• Grok CLI execution failed: ${(error as Error).message}
• Command failed with exit code ${result.status}: ${errorOutpu
• Grok CLI is not installed or not found in PATH. Please insta
• Grok CLI API key not found. Set GROK_CLI_API_KEY environment

AI-assisted analysis of eyaltoledano/claude-task-master@c0c98d367c (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2ac20d2dc94e5bc4. Report an issue: GitHub.