Grok Code Fast 1: New AI Coding Model
Grok Code Fast 1 is xAI’s new coding-focused model built for rapid, tool-heavy workflows. It went live on August 28, 2025, positioned as a “speedy and economical” daily driver for building features, fixing bugs, and navigating codebases. You’ll see Grok Code Fast 1 show up inside partner tools (like Copilot, Cursor, Cline, Roo Code, and more) and via the xAI API with pricing that’s aggressively low for this category.
Introduction on Grok Code Fast 1
Grok Code Fast 1 is xAI’s new coding-focused model built for rapid, tool-heavy workflows. It went live on August 28, 2025, positioned as a “speedy and economical” daily driver for building features, fixing bugs, and navigating codebases. You’ll see Grok Code Fast 1 show up inside partner tools (like Copilot, Cursor, Cline, Roo Code, and more) and via the xAI API with pricing that’s aggressively low for this category.
What is Grok Code Fast 1?
Grok Code Fast 1 is a new architecture trained on programming-rich data, then post-trained with real pull requests and practical tasks. It’s tuned to handle loops of tool use (think: grep, terminal, file edits) without the lag that usually drags down autonomous coding sessions. In internal and community tests, Grok Code Fast 1 feels responsive enough that users shift to smaller, tighter prompts and iterate rapidly.
Release date, price, and access
Release date: August 28, 2025.
Price (API): $0.20 per 1M input tokens, $1.50 per 1M output tokens, and $0.02 per 1M cached inputs.
Access: xAI API and launch partners (including GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Cline, Roo Code, Kilo Code, opencode, Windsurf). Copilot is rolling out an opt-in preview. xAIThe GitHub Blog
Why Grok Code Fast 1 matters now
Real speed for agentic coding – xAI’s serving stack emphasizes snappy tool calls and prompt caching (90%+ cache hits with partners), so Grok Code Fast 1 stays responsive while it plans and edits.
Developer-shaped training – pretraining + posttraining centered on code, real PRs, and IDE-like actions; Grok Code Fast 1 feels at home in editors.
Everyday stack coverage – strong on TypeScript, Python, Java, Rust, C++, and Go.
Lower run cost – the token prices undercut many rivals, making Grok Code Fast 1 viable for batch refactors and long sessions.
Launch-partner momentum – seeing Grok Code Fast 1 inside Copilot and popular IDE agents means instant workflows, not just an API.
Grok Code Fast 1 performance notes (plain English)
Benchmarks matter, but developer feel matters more. xAI reports 70.8% on SWE-Bench Verified (their internal harness), and stresses that human rater studies + real agent sessions guided the tuning. In practice, Grok Code Fast 1 aims to “think, plan, and act” quickly—calling tools while you’re still scanning its trace—so the loop from idea → edit → run feels tight.
Roadmap hints
xAI says updates will land in days, not weeks, and a variant with multimodal inputs, parallel tool calling, and longer context is already in training. That makes Grok Code Fast 1 a moving target—in a good way.
Comparison: Grok Code Fast 1 vs other coding models (2025)
| Model | Release date (2025) | Focus | Notable strengths | Access & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grok Code Fast 1 | Aug 28 | Fast, economical agentic coding | Low token prices; strong tool use; partner rollouts (Copilot, Cursor, etc.); SWE-Bench Verified 70.8% (internal harness) | xAI API + partner IDEs; prompt guide available. |
| Grok 4 | Jul 9–10 | Generalist intelligence with tools and search | Flagship reasoning; “Heavy” tier for multi-agent strength | xAI API and subscription tiers. |
| Claude Sonnet 4 | May 22 | Mid-tier Claude, strong coding + agents | Better instruction following, error correction, and workflow reliability | Claude.ai, API, enterprise plans. |
| Gemini 2.5 Pro | GA Jun 17 | Long-context, multimodal coding & reasoning | Up to 1M-token context; used in Gemini Code Assist across tiers | Google AI Studio, Gemini API, Vertex AI. |
When to reach for each model
- Choose Grok Code Fast 1 when you want quick, tool-heavy edits inside IDE agents and you care about run-costs over raw frontier size.
- Choose Grok 4 when you need wider general reasoning, multi-agent orchestration, or deep research + coding in one stack.
- Choose Claude Sonnet 4 when instruction following and low-friction code reviews are the priority in customer-facing agents.
Choose Gemini 2.5 Pro for massive repos, mixed media inputs, or when your org standardizes on Google Cloud and Code Assist.
How to get started with Grok Code Fast 1 (today)
Try it in Copilot or Cursor – If you’ve got Copilot Pro/Business/Enterprise, enable the Grok Code Fast 1 preview and compare it against your default model on everyday tasks (bug fixes, small features). Cursor users can enable the partner model as well.
Use the xAI API – Move recurring edits to scripts: batch refactors, test stubs, docstring fixes. The Grok Code Fast 1 price point lets you run longer loops without sweating the bill.
Adopt the prompt guide – xAI’s prompt tips encourage smaller steps and explicit tool permissions—exactly how Grok Code Fast 1 was tuned.
Measure, don’t guess – Track tokens, solve time, pass/fail per task, and “developer feel.” Keep a weekly bake-off between Grok Code Fast 1, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Claude Sonnet 4, and your current default.
Real-world patterns that pair well with Grok Code Fast 1
- Zero-to-one scaffolds: Let Grok Code Fast 1 stub projects, then iterate feature by feature.
- Surgical bug hunts: Feed logs + a failing test; ask it to propose minimal diffs and explain impact.
- Codebase Q&A: Use tight, file-scoped prompts—“what does this module assume about auth?”—then request targeted edits.
- Prompt-cache friendly loops: Reuse a stable “dev harness” prompt so you benefit from high cache hit rates.
Limits and good habits
- Benchmarks aren’t the whole story. SWE-Bench helps, but judge on your repo and tests. Grok Code Fast 1 leans into human eval and IDE feel; so should you.
- Small tasks, fast cycles. Users report better results by chunking work; it fits how Grok Code Fast 1 was tuned.
Mind safety & provenance. Keep dependency updates reviewed, and store AI-generated diffs in PRs with clear labels—no silent merges.
FAQ
Is Grok Code Fast 1 a full replacement for generalist models?
Not always. It’s built to shine in agentic coding loops with fast tool use and lower cost. For broad research + code, you may still prefer Grok 4 or Gemini 2.5 Pro depending on context.
Where can I use Grok Code Fast 1 right now?
Via the xAI API and in partner tools. GitHub Copilot offers an opt-in preview; several IDE agents already integrate it.
What’s the pricing model?
$0.20 per 1M input tokens, $1.50 per 1M output tokens, and $0.02 per 1M cached inputs (API).
How does it compare to Claude Sonnet 4 and Gemini 2.5 Pro?
Claude Sonnet 4 emphasizes instruction following and error correction; Gemini 2.5 Pro brings huge context and Cloud tooling. Grok Code Fast 1 emphasizes speed and cost inside agentic coding. Run a week-long bake-off to pick your default.
Wrap-up on Grok Code Fast 1
The headline isn’t just that Grok Code Fast 1 is new—it’s that fast, tool-heavy coding finally feels affordable at scale. If your team spends hours in IDE agents, you’ll likely feel the difference. Start small: enable the preview, clone a feature ticket, and let Grok Code Fast 1 race against Gemini 2.5 Pro and Claude Sonnet 4 on your real repo. The winner should earn the default slot—no sentiment, just speed, quality, and cost.