Post, schedule and run ads from Grok Build

What is Grok Build?

Grok Build is xAI’s terminal coding agent. It adds MCP servers from the command line, local or hosted, and it reads Claude Code’s plugins, skills and MCP settings as well as its own, so a machine already set up for Claude Code brings Hermoso along.

Grok Build, Grok Bot or Grok? Grok Build is xAI’s terminal coding agent. Grok Bot is the team of always-on agents with their own cloud computer, and Grok chat adds Hermoso as a custom connector at grok.com/connectors. xAI says instructions for one do not transfer to the others.

Hermoso is marketing on autopilot: 876+ tools over one MCP endpoint covering competitor ad research, finished image and video ads across 90+ models, publishing and scheduling to ten social channels, and campaign management on Meta, Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Reddit Ads, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X Ads, TikTok Ads, Snapchat Ads, ChatGPT Ads and Apple Search Ads. One connection, and Grok Build has all of it.

Connect Hermoso to Grok Build

1. Install and sign in.

   npm install -g hermoso && hermoso auth login

   Your browser opens once. Nothing to create and nothing to paste: the credential is stored owner-only in ~/.hermoso/config.json. On a machine with no browser, hermoso auth login --token hmk_… takes a key from MCP & CLI → Terminal & API keys instead.
2. Add Hermoso as a local server.

   grok mcp add hermoso -- npx -y hermoso mcp

   Everything after -- is the server command, and hermoso mcp reads the sign-in above, so no key goes in the config.
3. Or use the hosted endpoint.

   grok mcp add --transport http hermoso https://app.hermoso.ai/mcp

   Grok Build opens a browser sign-in on first use and keeps the token in ~/.grok/mcp_credentials.json. Nothing is installed.
4. Ask Grok Build for something. “Pull my three closest competitors’ longest-running ads and remix the best hook into a 9:16 video,” or “post this render to the channel.” The agent picks the tools; you approve the spend.

Two Grok Build details worth knowing. --scope project writes .grok/config.toml beside a repo instead of your home directory, which suits a repo that should always run against one brand. And Grok Build also loads MCP servers from ~/.claude.json, .cursor/mcp.json and a project’s .mcp.json, and reads Claude Code’s plugins and skills, so a Hermoso setup made for Claude Code is already in reach. Quoted from xAI’s Grok Build docs, read on 2026-10-03, and documented rather than run here. Hermoso is not affiliated with or endorsed by xAI.

Every channel Grok Build can publish to

Each channel links to its Hermoso page, with that channel’s real caption cap, visibility options and what it refuses. Grok Build reaches all of them through the same tools as every other agent.

Every one of them queues through one schedule_post calendar with per-channel captions, and list_scheduled reports per-channel outcomes rather than a single green tick, because “the job succeeded” and “the post went out” are different questions. A scheduled post lives in Hermoso, so it goes out on time whether or not Grok Build is still running.

Two channels that are built but not offered

Being straight about this is worth more than a longer list. Two publishing surfaces exist in the codebase and are held back, each waiting on the platform rather than on us:

• Reddit: organic posting and post stats are built, but Reddit’s Responsible Builder Policy requires explicit written approval before an app may use the Data API, and that ticket has not been granted. The connector is held back rather than offered as an OAuth screen leading to a dead API. Reddit Ads is a different connection and it is live: the full campaign tree, forecasting, targeting search, pixels and lead forms.
• Google Business Profile: post_to_google_business is built, with events, offers and a real call-to-action choice, and so are the listing insights. Google allowlists the Business Profile API per project and the default quota is zero, so every call would 403 for every user. It stays gated until Google grants the project access.

A connector that would hand you a successful OAuth and a dead API is worse than one that is not offered yet, so neither is listed as available.

Three things to type once it is connected

1. Research. “Who are my three closest competitors, and what are their longest-running Meta ads? Tell me which hook keeps repeating.” It runs find_competitors → pull_competitor_ads → mine_angles.
2. Create. “Make me a 9:16 UGC video ad using that hook, with my real product photo and captions burned in.” It runs get_brand → plan_ad → render_ad, and hands back a finished mp4 URL.
3. Ship. “Schedule it to Instagram and TikTok for Tuesday 9am, and build a paused Meta campaign around it targeting the US at $30 a day.” It runs schedule_post → create_meta_campaign → create_meta_ad.

What Grok Build cannot do on its own

An agent with a budget is only useful if the blast radius is bounded, so the fence is in the server rather than in a prompt. Every ad campaign, ad set, ad group and ad is created paused, and the status switches that arm real money refuse to run without an explicit confirmation flag. Every render is quoted first (hermoso_capabilities publishes each model’s exact credit cost before anything spends). Credits are reserved before the first provider call and settled at the exact cost afterwards, so a failed dispatch refunds rather than leaving you billed for nothing. Deletes are confirm-gated too, and every campaign tree is read back from the ad platform before your agent tells you what it built.

One step is deliberately yours: linking each account, once. Most channels link through the platform’s own OAuth consent screen in a browser; Bluesky takes an app password and Telegram a bot token, pasted in Hermoso. Everything after that is a tool call.

How often Grok Build asks before a tool runs is Grok Build’s setting, not ours. Hermoso’s gates hold either way: campaigns are born paused, and spend switches and deletes need an explicit confirmation.

What it costs

Adding Hermoso to Grok Build costs nothing extra: there is one credit meter, and it does not care which client called. A free account starts with 30 credits at signup and 250+ more to earn. Credits are spent only on AI models and Ad Spy research; posting, scheduling, ads management and analytics are free on every channel except X, which bills per call because X charges per API request. Paid plans are $19, $49 and $149 a month for 1,000, 3,000 and 10,000 credits, and every feature is on every plan. hermoso_capabilities gives the exact credit price of any render before it runs.

Troubleshooting

• A local server prints help and exits. The arguments are missing the trailing mcp. npx -y hermoso on its own prints help; npx -y hermoso mcp starts the server.
• There is no browser on that machine. Create a key under MCP & CLI → Terminal & API keys and run npx -y hermoso auth login --token hmk_… instead.
• A channel is missing. Connect it in Hermoso under Settings → Connectors, then ask Grok Build to run list_connectors again.
• Grok Build answers without using Hermoso. Name it in the request: “use Hermoso to …”. That leaves no doubt about which tools should do the job.

Beyond publishing

Publishing is the last step, and it is the smallest one. The same connection gives Grok Build the Meta, Google and LinkedIn ad libraries plus organic TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit and Threads for research; 100+ image, video, voice and writing models on a single credit meter, with UGC avatars, dubbing, upscaling and native HTML ad formats; and the full campaign tree on eleven paid platforms. There are no per-vendor API keys to hold and no separate app to learn.

See the full tool list, every agent Hermoso works in, or what a marketing MCP is. For the longer story on this client specifically, see Hermoso in Grok Bot.

Hermoso in other agents

The same Hermoso account works in every agent below, so your brand, library, schedule and credits follow you between them.

Frequently asked questions

Can Grok Build post to social media?

Yes, once you connect Hermoso's MCP server. Grok Build can then publish to Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, X, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Bluesky and Telegram, and schedule to all ten from one queue with per-channel captions.

How do I add Hermoso to Grok Build?

Run npx -y hermoso auth login once, then grok mcp add hermoso -- npx -y hermoso mcp. The browser sign-in stores the credential, so no key goes in a config file. Or add the hosted endpoint with grok mcp add --transport http hermoso https://app.hermoso.ai/mcp, which signs in with OAuth on first use. Two Grok Build details worth knowing. --scope project writes .grok/config.toml beside a repo instead of your home directory, which suits a repo that should always run against one brand. And Grok Build also loads MCP servers from ~/.claude.json, .cursor/mcp.json and a project’s .mcp.json, and reads Claude Code’s plugins and skills, so a Hermoso setup made for Claude Code is already in reach. Quoted from xAI’s Grok Build docs, read on 2026-10-03, and documented rather than run here. Hermoso is not affiliated with or endorsed by xAI.

Can Grok Build research my competitors' ads?

Yes. From Grok Build the Meta, Google and LinkedIn ad libraries are searchable alongside organic TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit and Threads, ranked by run length, because an ad still running after months is an ad that is paying for itself. It will also tear a competitor down and return a video's voiceover, on-screen text and beat list with timestamps.

Do I need a separate account to use Hermoso in Grok Build?

No. One Hermoso account is enough, and Grok Build authenticates against it. The sign-in step stores the credential itself, so there is nothing to paste. The web studio at app.hermoso.ai is the same engine and the same credits.

Is it safe to let Grok Build post and run ads for me?

Hermoso keeps the steps that cost money or cannot be undone behind gates on its own server, whatever Grok Build is set to do: every campaign is created paused, spend switches and deletes need an explicit confirmation, and a post only reaches an account you connected and ticked in Hermoso. How often Grok Build asks before a tool runs is Grok Build’s setting, not ours. Hermoso’s gates hold either way: campaigns are born paused, and spend switches and deletes need an explicit confirmation.

Does Grok Build pick up Hermoso from Claude Code?

It can. xAI’s docs say Grok Build reads Claude Code’s marketplaces, plugins, skills and MCP settings, including ~/.claude.json and a project’s .mcp.json, so a Hermoso setup made for Claude Code is visible to Grok Build too.