GrokBar

Windows system-tray usage monitor for Grok Build — see how much weekly quota you’ve used without leaving your desktop.

Dark, compact UI inspired by xAI / Grok. Free and open source.

 

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Features

Tray ring	Color-coded % for Grok Build at a glance
Popup dashboard	Rounded dark card — ring gauge + vertical product bars
Products	Build · Chat · Imagine · API (when the API reports %)
Weekly window	Reset countdown + total credit usage
Settings	Start with Windows via Startup folder shortcut (not registry)
Local auth	Reuses grok login — no extra API key
Notifications	Alerts at 70% / 90% / 100%

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Install (users)

1. Sign in to Grok (once)

Install / use Grok Build CLI and run:

grok login

This creates ~/.grok/auth.json. GrokBar only reads that file locally.

2. Download the app

Grab GrokBar.exe from the latest release.

3. Run it

Double-click GrokBar.exe. The icon appears in the system tray (near the clock).

Action	Result
Left-click	Open / close dashboard
Right-click	Menu (refresh, settings, quit)
⚙ in the popup	Settings

Optional: Settings → Start with Windows.

SmartScreen / antivirus: the .exe is an unsigned open-source build (PyInstaller). Windows may show “Unknown publisher”. Use More info → Run anyway, or build from source below. Startup uses a normal Startup-folder shortcut to reduce false positives.

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Screenshots

Dashboard

Weekly Grok Build ring, product breakdown (vertical bars), refresh / web / quit.

Settings

Start with Windows, about, and creator credit.

Tray

Healthy (violet) → warning → critical as usage climbs.

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Build from source

Requirements: Windows 10/11, Python 3.10+

git clone https://github.com/JairoMS27/grokBar.git
cd grokBar
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
python -m grok_bar

Package a single .exe:

.\build.ps1
# → dist\GrokBar.exe

Dev helpers:

python -m grok_bar --once      # print usage to console
python -m grok_bar --preview   # popup only

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How it works

1. Loads the session token from ~/.grok/auth.json (same as the Grok CLI).

2. Calls xAI’s billing endpoints used by /usage in the CLI:

   • GET …/v1/billing?format=credits → weekly % + per-product usage
   • GET …/v1/billing → optional monthly context (not shown as a big bar in UI)

3. Renders tray icon + popup. Auto-refreshes every ~2 minutes.

Privacy: no analytics, no third-party trackers. Network traffic only to xAI for billing data.

See SECURITY.md.

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Project layout

grokBar/
  grok_bar/          # app package
    api.py           # billing client
    auth.py          # read local grok session
    app.py           # tray + lifecycle
    popup.py         # rounded UI
    settings.py      # prefs + Startup shortcut
    icons.py         # tray glyphs
  assets/            # app icon
  docs/              # screenshots
  build.ps1          # PyInstaller one-file build
  entry.py           # freeze entrypoint

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FAQ

Does it need my xAI API key?
No. It uses the interactive grok login session.

Token expired?
Run grok login again, then refresh in GrokBar.

Antivirus when enabling startup?
Older builds wrote to the registry Run key (flagged as “persistence”). Current builds only add a Startup folder .lnk.

macOS / Linux?
Not yet — Windows tray + Win32 packaging only.

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License

MIT © ej3mplo

Not affiliated with xAI. Grok and xAI are trademarks of their respective owners.