Skip to main content
Watch: I Built an AI App Without Leaving Databricks

xAI API error

xAI API gRPC UNAVAILABLE: what it means and how to fix it

Error message
gRPC UNAVAILABLE

Retry? YesLast verified 2 documented fixes2 sources

What it means

The service is currently unavailable, often a transient error: the model or endpoint invoked is temporarily down or there are connectivity issues. The xAI SDK retries this status automatically by default.

Causes

  • The model or endpoint invoked is temporarily down
  • Connectivity issues

How to fix it

  1. Fix 1.

    The SDK retries automatically with exponential backoff: up to 5 attempts, 0.1s initial backoff, 1s maximum backoff, multiplier 2. Check status.x.ai during an ongoing disruption.

  2. Fix 2.

    Retries can be disabled with the grpc.enable_retries channel option.

    Snippet
    sync_client = Client(channel_options=[("grpc.enable_retries", 0)])

More xAI API errors

All 18 xAI API errors

FAQ

What does the xAI API error "gRPC UNAVAILABLE" mean?

The service is currently unavailable, often a transient error: the model or endpoint invoked is temporarily down or there are connectivity issues. The xAI SDK retries this status automatically by default.

How do I fix xAI API "gRPC UNAVAILABLE"?

There are 2 documented fixes. Start with the first: The SDK retries automatically with exponential backoff: up to 5 attempts, 0.1s initial backoff, 1s maximum backoff, multiplier 2. Check status.x.ai during an ongoing disruption.

Should I retry xAI API "gRPC UNAVAILABLE"?

Yes. The official docs treat this error as retryable.

Sources

Last verified against 2 sources: xAI API's official docs and official SDK repositories.

Newsletter

Know when the APIs change

One email per week. New model releases, API changes, what broke, and how developers are working around it.