Vercel x xAI Chatbot

Vercel x xAI Chatbot is an open-source AI chatbot application template built with Next.js, the AI SDK by Vercel, and xAI. It provides a working chat interface that streams text responses from xAI models, packaged as a deployable starter that runs on Vercel.

What is Vercel x xAI Chatbot?

Vercel x xAI Chatbot is a starter template for building a streaming AI chat application. It takes user chat messages as input and returns streamed text responses from xAI models, using the AI SDK by Vercel as the model-calling layer. The app is built on the Next.js App Router, installs through npm, yarn, or pnpm, and runs locally on port 3000 or deploys directly to Vercel. It is maintained by the Vercel team alongside community contributors and sits in the vercel-labs organization on GitHub (about 38 stars).

Key Features

• Streaming responses via the AI SDK — text is streamed back to the client, and the SDK layer lets multiple AI providers be swapped with a few lines of code rather than a rewrite.
• Tool integration — built-in support for extending model capabilities with tools, demonstrated in the template with a weather tool example.
• Reasoning model support — the chat interface can render output from reasoning models, not just plain chat completions.
• shadcn/ui components — the interface is assembled from shadcn/ui components styled with Tailwind CSS, giving a responsive layout out of the box.
• Next.js App Router — built on the current Next.js App Router structure rather than the legacy pages directory.
• One-click Vercel deploy — a Deploy with Vercel button clones the repository, provisions the xAI (Grok) integration through the Vercel Marketplace, and sets the demo title and description.
• Local environment sync via Vercel CLI — running vercel link and vercel env pull writes a .env.local file containing the environment variables the app needs.

Who is it for?

• Developers prototyping an AI chat product: start from a working streaming chat UI instead of wiring up the AI SDK, message state, and rendering from scratch.
• Teams standardizing on xAI models: use the preconfigured xAI/Grok integration to get a Grok-backed chatbot running without hand-building the API plumbing.
• Developers who want to swap providers: the AI SDK abstraction is the point of the template, so anyone comparing model providers can change providers with a few lines of code.
• Learners exploring tool calling and reasoning models: the included weather tool example and reasoning support give concrete starting points to modify.

What can you do with Vercel x xAI Chatbot?

• Ship a Grok chat demo: deploy the template to Vercel with the one-click button, which wires up the xAI integration, and get a public chatbot URL.
• Add your own tools: replace or extend the weather tool example to give the assistant access to your own functions and data sources.
• Prototype across providers: because the AI SDK supports multiple providers interchangeably, use the template as a testbed for comparing model output side by side.
• Build a custom branded assistant: restyle the shadcn/ui and Tailwind CSS components to fit an existing product's design language.

How does Vercel x xAI Chatbot work?

Clone the repository and install dependencies with npm, yarn, or pnpm. Install the Vercel CLI, run vercel link to connect the local project to a Vercel project, then run vercel env pull to write the environment variables into .env.local. Start the dev server with npm run dev and open localhost:3000. Alternatively, skip the local setup and use the Deploy with Vercel button, which provisions the xAI integration automatically.

FAQ

Is Vercel x xAI Chatbot free to use?

Yes. The template is an open-source repository maintained by Vercel and community contributors, so the code itself is free to clone and modify. You still need your own xAI API access via the Vercel Marketplace integration, and any usage costs from xAI apply separately.

Does it work with AI providers other than xAI?

The streaming layer is built on the AI SDK by Vercel, which is designed so multiple AI providers can be used interchangeably with only a few lines of code. The template ships configured for xAI, but the SDK abstraction is what makes provider swapping practical.

What example tool is included?

The template includes a weather tool example that demonstrates how to wire a tool into the chat so the model can call it. You can replace it with your own tool definitions.

Can I deploy it without running it locally?

Yes. The README provides a Deploy with Vercel button that clones the repository under the name ai-sdk-starter-xai, sets the demo title and description, and attaches the xAI (grok) integration product through the Vercel Marketplace.