X open sources Grok-based For You recommendation algorithm under Apache-2.0 license
A week after announcing intentions to open up X's core recommendation algorithm, Elon Musk has now released the For You feed code on GitHub under the Apache-2.0 license. This development provides transparency by letting the public examine how content is ranked and promoted on the platform.
Unlike the previous 2023 open-source approach, the new system relies on a Grok-based transformer model and removes nearly all hand-coded logic. Instead, it learns ranking strategies purely from user engagement patterns, which minimizes the impact of tactics such as hashtag stuffing or posting at so-called optimal times.
Following this architectural shift, the For You feed now combines in-network content from followed accounts with out-of-network posts discovered through machine learning-driven retrieval. The result is a recommendation engine that ranks all content using the Grok-based transformer model.
According to the GitHub repository, the codebase consists of approximately 100 files and includes just under 10,000 lines of code, with 63% written in Rust and 37% in Python.
- Social Network
- Freemium
- Proprietary
Related news
External links
- We have open-sourced our new 𝕏 algorithm, powered by the same transformer architecture as xAI's Grok model.X (formerly Twitter) • Official source
- Elon Musk’s X Open-Sources Grok-Powered Algorithm Driving 'For You' FeedDecrypt
- Musk's X open sources Grok-powered algorithm to boost transparencyNewsBytes
- X finally open-sourced its algorithm: Here are real tips to grow your reach in 2026PiunikaWeb
- Elon Musk calls X algorithm dumb, open sources it so users can see the struggle of fixing it in real timeIndia Today
- Elon Musk Open-Sources X Algorithm, Calls It “Dumb” and Invites Public to Watch It ImproveThe Hans India
Comments
Say what you will about Elon, but this is the best thing to ever happen to major social media, which was always a form of propaganda based on algorithms.
You seem to misunderstand what this algorithm is doing. Put simply, it takes all previously seen tweets for any user and train some (totally unknown) model using Grok. The recommendations are then slightly filtered (like duplicates removed) and shown to the user.
The "propaganda based on algorithms" remains as Grok ultimately decide how to rank tweets, and user still don't decide exactly which post they've seen.
If you really want "the best thing that happens to major social media", read some of the extensive studies on other social medias and understand how this "addictive behavior" is just bullshit.
Open source as a concept is a good thing, but it is a completely different thing to saying that everything that is open source is a good thing. You can look up source code of some nasty pieces of malware, and they are still malware. 'But this will help understand...' No, the way algorithmic social media festers on the worst of user's emotions and psychology is already very well understood, there are no new discoveries to find here, in part because of that and in part because it is absolutely not THE algorithm, he wouldnt want people to openly see how his tweets or those of his peers are forced upon people and given preferential visibility above all because it is hardcoded. This is nothing more that an attempt to openwash his putrid platform and the best proof of that will be that this will mean nothing at all for his nor for any other social media. This is nothing.
"Putrid platform" aka you saw a different opinion for once. LOL