# xAI Grok 4 — deprecation status

> Yes — Grok 4 is retired. xAI shut it down on May 15, 2026; API requests to it now fail. The recommended replacement is Grok 4.3.

The July 2025 flagship that xAI launched with claims of PhD-level performance across every subject, and the first Grok that could not be asked to skip thinking. Because the undated grok-4 alias pointed here, plenty of integrations were running it without ever naming the snapshot.

## Facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Provider | xAI |
| Model id | `grok-4-0709` |
| Status | Retired |
| Aliases | `grok-4`, `grok-4-latest` |
| Shutdown | May 15, 2026 (80 days ago) |
| Last verified | August 3, 2026 |

## Replacement

- **Grok 4.3** (`grok-4.3`) · recommended — https://modeldeprecations.dev/xai/grok-4.3
  - Maps to grok-4.3 with reasoning effort "low". Grok 4 had no non-reasoning mode at all, so this is the first time the workload can be run without thinking tokens if you want that.
  - Parameters it accepts: https://modelparams.dev/models/xai/grok-4.3

```diff
- "model": "grok-4-0709"
+ "model": "grok-4.3"
```

## FAQ

### When did xAI Grok 4 shut down?

xAI Grok 4 shut down on May 15, 2026. API requests to it fail from that date onward.

### What replaces xAI Grok 4?

xAI recommends Grok 4.3 (`grok-4.3`) as the replacement for xAI Grok 4. Maps to grok-4.3 with reasoning effort "low". Grok 4 had no non-reasoning mode at all, so this is the first time the workload can be run without thinking tokens if you want that.

### Is xAI Grok 4 still available?

No. xAI Grok 4 is retired and no longer served — it was shut down on May 15, 2026. Calls to it return an error.

### How do I migrate from xAI Grok 4 to grok-4.3?

Swap the model id in your API call: replace "grok-4-0709" with "grok-4.3". Maps to grok-4.3 with reasoning effort "low". Grok 4 had no non-reasoning mode at all, so this is the first time the workload can be run without thinking tokens if you want that.

### Does this apply to grok-4 too?

Yes. xAI Grok 4 is also published as `grok-4`, `grok-4-latest`; those ids share the same lifecycle dates as `grok-4-0709`.

## Sources

- [Grok Model Retirement on May 15, 2026](https://docs.x.ai/developers/migration/may-15-retirement) — accessed 2026-08-03

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Canonical page: https://modeldeprecations.dev/xai/grok-4-0709
JSON: https://modeldeprecations.dev/api/v1/models/xai/grok-4-0709.json