SpaceXAI's Grok Build command-line tool uploaded entire user code repositories to cloud storage, a practice that included sensitive information. Researchers at Cereblab published findings on July 12 detailing how the tool packaged and transmitted complete codebases, even files it was instructed not to access and secrets that had been deleted from version history. The volume of data transferred was significantly larger than what was needed for the AI's coding tasks.
Cereblab's analysis, which used a proxy to intercept network traffic from Grok Build version 0.2.93, revealed two data channels. One channel handled the AI's direct coding interactions, sending a modest amount of data. A separate background channel, however, packaged the user's entire workspace into a Git bundle and sent it to Google Cloud Storage. In one test, this background channel transferred at least 5.1 gigabytes from an 11.2 gigabyte repository, far exceeding the approximately 192 kilobytes used for the AI's analysis. This upload mechanism reportedly operated independently of the files accessed during the model interaction.
The tool's privacy settings did not prevent these uploads. Disabling the "use for improving the model" setting, or using a "/privacy" command, did not stop the transfer of code repositories. Cereblab noted that the "/privacy" command primarily controlled server-side data retention rather than the initial transmission of data. Sensitive information, including fabricated API keys and database passwords from a ".env" file, were found unredacted in the captured data through both channels. Researchers warned that any credentials accessible by Grok Build should be considered compromised.
Following the disclosure, SpaceXAI reportedly disabled codebase uploads server-side by implementing a `disable_codebase_upload: true` flag. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceXAI, stated on X that all previously uploaded user data would be "completely and utterly deleted" as a precautionary measure. However, as of July 14, 2026, there had been no independent audit or customer-facing attestation confirming the completion of this data deletion. The upload functionality remains present in the current Grok Build binary, meaning SpaceXAI could re-enable it without a software update, a fact that has raised concerns about developer trust.
For comparison, other AI coding assistants like Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini were tested by Cereblab and found to keep data local, only sending files they actively opened. SpaceXAI's documentation for enterprise users outlines a Zero Data Retention (ZDR) policy, which states that code and trace data are not stored when using ZDR-enabled APIs. However, the recent incident involved consumer accounts, and the effectiveness of the "/privacy" command for consumer users was disputed.