Grok + xCloud

Install one-click apps with Grok on xCloud

Installing one-click apps with Grok means typing a short instruction into Grok Build, xAI's terminal coding agent, and letting it search the xCloud catalogue, check your server, install after you approve and print the address and status.

Skill: xcloud:deploy
Toolsets: oneclick-apps, catalog, servers
Free with every xCloud account

Set up Grok All Grok guides

Youinstall uptime kuma on frankfurt, staging hostname

oneclickApps_compatibilityread-only

AgentFits. Stack ok, server running, billing ok, resources ok. Install Uptime Kuma on a staging hostname? y/n

Youy

oneclickApps_installneeds approval

Agentpre_install, install, post_install, provisioning: done. Uptime Kuma is live on your staging hostname.

Last updated: October 2026. Keep a human in the loop: xCloud stops and asks before anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys.

Setup

How Do You Set Up Grok to Install one-click apps on xCloud?

Connect Grok once; every job on this account uses the same connection. Then ask in plain words.

1
Add the xCloud MCP server
Run this in your terminal, then start grok. The first time it calls xCloud, a browser opens on the xCloud approval screen, where you tick the teams and choose Read-only or Full access. Add --scope project to save the entry in .grok/config.toml for one repository instead.
Terminal
```
grok mcp add --transport http xcloud https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```
2
Or edit ~/.grok/config.toml
Add this table to ~/.grok/config.toml, then run grok mcp doctor xcloud to check the connection. The url key is the one for HTTP servers.
TOML
```
[mcp_servers.xcloud]
url = "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp"
```
3
No browser? Use an API key
For a headless machine, create a token with the mcp:invoke scope plus the read abilities for the areas it will use (read:servers and read:sites, with read:billing and read:addons for billing and add-on tools) and the matching write: abilities if it should change things in Settings, Developers, API Tokens. Put it in an environment variable the machine starts Grok with, such as XCLOUD_TOKEN in a systemd EnvironmentFile or your shell profile, and pass a reference to it with --header. Keep the single quotes so the shell leaves ${XCLOUD_TOKEN} alone: Grok expands ${VAR} in headers when it loads the config, so the token itself never lands in your shell history or in config.toml. Run grok mcp doctor xcloud to confirm it works.
Terminal
```
grok mcp add --transport http --header 'Authorization: Bearer ${XCLOUD_TOKEN}' xcloud https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```
✓
Check it worked
Then ask Grok for the job itself, for example:
Prompt
```
list one-click apps matching uptime and show what each needs
```

In practice

How Does One-click apps Work from Grok?

Grok Build runs in the directory where you started grok, and the instruction can be as terse as the commands around it: install uptime kuma on frankfurt, staging hostname. The model calls the xCloud tools registered by grok mcp add, which you can inspect in the MCP tab by typing /mcps in the session. Search comes first. Grok prints the matching catalogue entries with the stacks they need, then the install form fields, leaving out anything xCloud generates for you. Name no server and it lists yours and asks, because installing on a guessed server is not allowed.

Then comes the fit check. Grok runs the compatibility call for your server and condenses it into a verdict line plus reasons: the stack matches or it does not, the server is running, billing is fine, and the resources suffice or the check was inconclusive because monitoring data is missing. A 422 that says the app requires another stack is not an error to work around. It means pick a server on that stack. When you answer yes, Grok sends the install with its confirmation and an idempotency key, polls the status every few seconds and prints the phase as it changes. If you ask for a dashboard-only app such as Open WebUI or Ollama, it tells you to use Add site, One-Click Apps instead of attempting the call.

Grok Build also loads MCP servers from ~/.claude.json, .cursor/mcp.json and a project .mcp.json, as xAI's documentation notes. If you already connected xCloud in one of those clients, run grok mcp list before adding it again, since a duplicate entry only adds noise. For app management after the install, stop, start, restart and redeploy are the same short sentences. Stop and redeploy ask for approval first because one takes the app offline and the other recreates its containers.

Grok specific: Terminal output stays in your scrollback. When you ask Grok for an app's login details it shows them once in the reply, and that reply sits in your terminal history and in any log you tee the session to. Copy them into a password manager, clear the screen and do not paste them into a later prompt. Grok at grok.com is a separate surface with its own connector settings and is not what this page covers.

What xCloud does for one-click apps

xCloud lists the one-click catalogue, checks whether an app fits a given server, installs it once you approve and reports each install phase until it finishes. Afterwards the agent can fetch the login details and stop, start or redeploy the app. A few apps install only from the dashboard, and the agent tells you where to click.

Find the app. The agent searches the catalogue by name or purpose and shows what it found. An empty catalogue means the list has not synced on that environment, so the agent never answers that an app does not exist from an empty list.
Read the install form. The agent reads the app's fields. Fields xCloud generates for you can be left out. For the address you choose a free xCloud staging hostname or your own domain, and a live domain needs the full site name.
Check the server fits. You name the server, or the agent lists yours and asks. The compatibility check covers the server stack, runtime, state, billing and RAM, CPU and disk against the latest monitoring snapshot. If monitoring data is missing the resource check was skipped, and the agent says the result is inconclusive.
Approve and install. The agent restates the app, the server and the address, and asks once. On your yes it sends the install with an explicit confirmation and an idempotency key, so a retried request cannot create a second copy.
Poll the install. The agent polls the install status every five to ten seconds until it is terminal. A failure names its phase: pre_install, install, post_install or provisioning, so you know where it stopped.
Hand over and manage. The agent gives you the URL. It fetches the login details only when you ask, shows them once in the reply and tells you to store them in a password manager. Later it can stop, start, restart or redeploy the app after your approval.

Reference

One-click apps Settings and Limits on xCloud

The facts Grok works within when it installs one-click apps. Where a row names the dashboard, that step stays yours to take there.

Setting or limit	What applies
Catalogue	Searchable by name. It holds hundreds of apps, and most run on a Docker server. Public facts such as supported stacks and minimum size come from the catalogue listing
Compatibility check	Per server: stack, runtime, server state, billing and RAM, CPU and disk. monitor_available set to false means the resource check was skipped, not passed
Too-small servers	A server that is too small stays too small. The agent suggests a larger server instead of retrying the install
Stack requirements	An app that needs another stack is refused with a 422 that reads "This app requires a ... server. This server is on the ... stack."
Dashboard-only installs	n8n, Supabase, Nextcloud, Mautic, LibreChat, Open WebUI, Ollama, Umami, WireGuard, phpMyAdmin and Site.pro. The API answers 404 for these eleven; install them from Add site, One-Click Apps in the dashboard
Address	Staging hostname for a free xCloud address, or go live with your own domain. A demo site promoted to a live domain cannot return to the demo address
Idempotency	The install carries an Idempotency-Key, so a retried request cannot create a duplicate site
Install phases	pre_install, install, post_install and provisioning. is_terminal marks the end, and failed_phase says where a failure happened
Credentials	Read on request and shown once in the reply. Some apps have none to read because you create the first admin inside the app
Lifecycle	Stop, start, restart and redeploy run synchronously. Stop takes the app offline and redeploy recreates its containers. Both answer 422 while an install is running or after a failed install
Agentic servers	An OpenClaw, Hermes, Paperclip or DeepSeek Harness server never takes a one-click app

Rules Grok has to follow

Installing, stopping and redeploying an app stop for your approval; browsing the catalogue and the compatibility check never change anything.
A missing resource reading is reported as inconclusive, never as a pass.
Login details are shown once, only when you ask, and never repeated in a summary or a later message.
For the eleven dashboard-only apps the agent checks that the server fits, then gives you the dashboard path instead of trying the install.
A failed install is not retried blindly: the agent names the failed phase and reads the site's recent events first.

Example prompts

What Can You Ask Grok to Do for One-click apps?

Type these as written and swap in your own repository, site and server names. Reads and routine actions such as backups, cache purges, PageSpeed scans and vulnerability scans run straight away; creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting, buying or starting a broken-link scan stops and asks first.

Prompt

list one-click apps matching uptime and show what each needs

Prompt

install uptime kuma on frankfurt, staging hostname, check fit first, ask me once

Prompt

redeploy ghost on blog.example.com, but say what a redeploy does before you run it

Prompt

Which one-click apps are compatible with my Frankfurt server?

Prompt

Search the one-click catalogue for a self-hosted blog and tell me what each result needs from a server.

Prompt

Install Uptime Kuma on the Frankfurt server on a staging hostname, wait until it is ready, then give me the login details.

Prompt

Check whether Immich fits my Amsterdam server before I install it, and tell me if the resource check was inconclusive.

Prompt

I want n8n on my Frankfurt server. Check that the server fits, then tell me where to click to install it.

Prompt

The Uptime Kuma install on the Frankfurt server failed. Which phase failed, and what do the recent events say?

Prompt

Redeploy the Ghost app on blog.example.com, but tell me what a redeploy does before you run it.

Grok and One-click apps: Frequently Asked Questions

What people ask before they let Grok install one-click apps through xCloud.

How do I see the xCloud install tools inside Grok Build?

Type /mcps in the session to open the MCP tab, or run grok mcp list in your shell. If the xcloud entry is there but the tools are not, run grok mcp doctor xcloud and restart grok.

What does Grok do when I ask for an app that installs only from the dashboard?

It checks that your server fits and then points you to Add site, One-Click Apps in the dashboard instead of attempting the install. The API answers 404 for eleven apps, including n8n, Open WebUI and Ollama, so Grok does not try them.

Can an agent install any app in the one-click catalogue?

Most of them. Eleven apps install only from the dashboard: n8n, Supabase, Nextcloud, Mautic, LibreChat, Open WebUI, Ollama, Umami, WireGuard, phpMyAdmin and Site.pro. For those the agent checks that your server fits and points you to Add site, One-Click Apps.

How does the agent know an app will fit my server?

It runs the compatibility check for that server, which covers the stack, runtime, server state, billing and the RAM, CPU and disk readings from the latest monitoring snapshot. If monitoring data is missing, the agent tells you the resource check was inconclusive.

What does a 422 during an app install mean?

Usually that the app needs a different server stack than the one you picked, and the message names both. Pick a server on the required stack. A 422 on stop, start or redeploy means an install is still running or the last install failed.

Where do the login details for a one-click app come from?

The agent can read them from xCloud when you ask and shows them once in the reply. Store them in a password manager. Some apps have no generated login because you create the first administrator inside the app.

Can an agent stop or restart a one-click app?

Yes. Stop, start, restart and redeploy are available, and they run straight away once you approve. Stop takes the app offline and redeploy recreates its containers, so the agent asks before either.

Other agents