Grok is the model Janitor AI users reach for when they want xAI's voice, and it connects more easily than its reputation suggests: xAI's API is OpenAI-compatible, so Grok goes into Janitor's proxy field the same way OpenRouter or DeepSeek does. It is not free in the API, the free Grok lives in the X app, and the content is governed by a policy stricter than the uncensored models most roleplayers default to. This guide gives the exact values, the per-message cost at xAI's listed prices, and the two caveats, content and region, that a proxy meets but does not dissolve.
The direct route: xAI's API
xAI documents its API as usable through the OpenAI SDK by pointing the base URL at https://api.x.ai/v1, and its API reference lists a POST /v1/chat/completions endpoint described as the one for chat and image-understanding models. That is what Janitor's proxy field wants.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Config Name | Grok |
| Proxy URL | https://api.x.ai/v1/chat/completions |
| API Key | a key from console.x.ai |
| Model | grok-4.6 (or grok-4.5, grok-4.3) |
Menu, API Settings, Proxy, Add Configuration, fill in, save, refresh, test. A network error here is the URL; a 401 is the key. The curl test that separates them is in our network error and 401 guide.
What a message costs
xAI's model documentation, read on 24 August 2026, priced the current Grok models by request size:
| Model | Context | Input, per million (<200k) | Output, per million (<200k) |
|---|---|---|---|
| grok-4.6 | 500k | $2.00 | $6.00 |
| grok-4.5 | 500k | $2.00 | $6.00 |
| grok-4.3 | 1M | $1.25 | $2.50 |
| grok-build-0.1 | 256k | $1.00 | $2.00 |
Prices double for grok-4.5 and grok-4.6 once a request passes 200,000 tokens, which a Janitor request never approaches unless the chat memory is enormous. A 20,000-token message plus a 300-token reply on grok-4.6 is 20,000 at $2 per million, four cents, plus a fraction of a cent on output. On grok-4.3 the same message is about two and a half cents with far more context headroom. It sits between Claude, at roughly the same input cost, and Mistral or DeepSeek, which are pennies.
The OpenRouter route
OpenRouter carried six Grok ids on 24 August 2026, including x-ai/grok-4.6 and x-ai/grok-4.5 at $2 and $6 per million and x-ai/grok-4.3 at $1.25 and $2.50. Proxy URL https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions, your OpenRouter key, one of those ids, and a balance. None is :free. This is the route to pick if you already keep an OpenRouter balance for other models; the setup is in our OpenRouter guide.
The two caveats a proxy does not dissolve
Content. xAI's acceptable-use policy governs what Grok produces through the API, and it is stricter than the uncensored models Janitor users often choose. It also forbids accessing the service through unauthorised automated means, scraping or reselling outputs, and circumventing rate limits or safety measures. A refused scene is Grok declining under that policy. No route, and no IP address, changes it.
Region. xAI's consumer terms carry a sanctions clause, and its newer models have launched EU-last: Grok 4.5 shipped on 8 July 2026 without EU availability, with xAI targeting later that month. If the API will not answer from your country, that is a reachability problem, and the tool is the network kind of proxy, covered next. If the model answers and then refuses a scene, that is the content policy, and no proxy is relevant.
Rate limits, and where a network proxy fits
xAI documents per-team rate limits in requests per second and tokens per minute, rising with cumulative spend, and returns 429 on excess. The limit follows the key, so neither a second key nor a different address moves it, the rule we set out for every backend in Janitor AI error 429.
The one job for the network kind of proxy is reachability: the xAI or Janitor endpoint does not answer from your network (a school or office filter) or your country (a sanctions exclusion, or an EU model not yet launched). For that, a static residential or ISP address in a served country, kept for the session, from $0.44 per GB on a usage meter, is the tool, and using it is a decision to read against xAI's terms first. Our proxies for Grok post covers the consumer side, including the national blocks Grok met in early 2026 and how they were lifted. For the price, the limits and the refusals on this page, a network proxy does nothing, and the honest setup is a console.x.ai key, the direct URL, and grok-4.6.
Sources
- xAI, API guide and API reference: the OpenAI SDK base URL https://api.x.ai/v1 and the POST /v1/chat/completions endpoint; models documentation: the grok-4.6, 4.5, 4.3 and grok-build prices and context windows, read 24 August 2026.
- xAI, Acceptable Use Policy and Consumer Terms of Service: the automation and scraping bans and the sanctions clause.
- OpenRouter, public models list: the x-ai Grok ids and prices, read 24 August 2026.
- Wikipedia, Grok (chatbot): Grok 4.5 released 8 July 2026 without EU availability at launch.
- Janitor AI Help Center, The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Using a Proxy with Janitor, Part One: the menu path and field names.