diff --git a/src/api/providers/__tests__/xai.spec.ts b/src/api/providers/__tests__/xai.spec.ts
index d760c0fd47..763d10d027 100644
--- a/src/api/providers/__tests__/xai.spec.ts
+++ b/src/api/providers/__tests__/xai.spec.ts
@@ -239,12 +239,7 @@ describe("XAIHandler", () => {
 	it("completePrompt should return text from Responses API", async () => {
 		const expectedResponse = "This is a test response"
 		mockResponsesCreate.mockResolvedValueOnce({
-			output: [
-				{
-					type: "message",
-					content: [{ type: "output_text", text: expectedResponse }],
-				},
-			],
+			output_text: expectedResponse,
 		})
 
 		const result = await handler.completePrompt("test prompt")
@@ -258,6 +253,41 @@ describe("XAIHandler", () => {
 		await expect(handler.completePrompt("test prompt")).rejects.toThrow(`xAI completion error: ${errorMessage}`)
 	})
 
+	it("should include reasoning_effort for mini models", async () => {
+		const miniModelHandler = new XAIHandler({
+			apiModelId: "grok-3-mini",
+			reasoningEffort: "high",
+		})
+
+		mockResponsesCreate.mockResolvedValueOnce(mockStream([]))
+
+		const stream = miniModelHandler.createMessage("test prompt", [])
+		await stream.next()
+
+		expect(mockResponsesCreate).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+			expect.objectContaining({
+				reasoning: expect.objectContaining({
+					reasoning_effort: "high",
+				}),
+			}),
+		)
+	})
+
+	it("should not include reasoning for non-mini models", async () => {
+		const regularHandler = new XAIHandler({
+			apiModelId: "grok-3",
+			reasoningEffort: "high",
+		})
+
+		mockResponsesCreate.mockResolvedValueOnce(mockStream([]))
+
+		const stream = regularHandler.createMessage("test prompt", [])
+		await stream.next()
+
+		const callArgs = mockResponsesCreate.mock.calls[mockResponsesCreate.mock.calls.length - 1][0]
+		expect(callArgs).not.toHaveProperty("reasoning")
+	})
+
 	it("should handle errors in createMessage", async () => {
 		const errorMessage = "Stream error"
 		mockResponsesCreate.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error(errorMessage))
diff --git a/src/api/providers/xai.ts b/src/api/providers/xai.ts
index daaad88d6c..0cd9cb0273 100644
--- a/src/api/providers/xai.ts
+++ b/src/api/providers/xai.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import type { ApiHandlerOptions } from "../../shared/api"
 import { ApiStream } from "../transform/stream"
 import { convertToResponsesApiInput } from "../transform/responses-api-input"
 import { processResponsesApiStream, createUsageNormalizer } from "../transform/responses-api-stream"
+import { getModelParams } from "../transform/model-params"
 
 import { DEFAULT_HEADERS } from "./constants"
 import { BaseProvider } from "./base-provider"
@@ -42,7 +43,15 @@ export class XAIHandler extends BaseProvider implements SingleCompletionHandler
 				? (this.options.apiModelId as XAIModelId)
 				: xaiDefaultModelId
 
-		return { id, info: xaiModels[id] }
+		const info = xaiModels[id]
+		const params = getModelParams({
+			format: "openai",
+			modelId: id,
+			model: info,
+			settings: this.options,
+			defaultTemperature: XAI_DEFAULT_TEMPERATURE,
+		})
+		return { id, info, ...params }
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -54,10 +63,11 @@ export class XAIHandler extends BaseProvider implements SingleCompletionHandler
 	 * (additionalProperties: false, ensureAllRequired) and handles MCP tools.
 	 */
 	private mapResponseTools(tools?: any[]): any[] | undefined {
-		if (!tools?.length) {
+		const converted = this.convertToolsForOpenAI(tools)
+		if (!converted?.length) {
 			return undefined
 		}
-		return tools
+		return converted
 			.filter((tool) => tool?.type === "function")
 			.map((tool) => {
 				const isMcp = isMcpTool(tool.function.name)
@@ -84,22 +94,42 @@ export class XAIHandler extends BaseProvider implements SingleCompletionHandler
 		const input = convertToResponsesApiInput(messages)
 		const responseTools = this.mapResponseTools(metadata?.tools)
 
-		let stream
+		// Build request options
+		const requestBody: Record<string, any> = {
+			model: model.id,
+			instructions: systemPrompt,
+			input: input,
+			stream: true,
+			store: false, // Don't store responses server-side for privacy
+			include: ["reasoning.encrypted_content"],
+		}
+
+		if (model.maxTokens) {
+			requestBody.max_output_tokens = model.maxTokens
+		}
+
+		if (model.temperature !== undefined) {
+			requestBody.temperature = model.temperature
+		}
+
+		if (responseTools) {
+			requestBody.tools = responseTools
+			// Cast tool_choice since metadata uses Chat Completions types but Responses API has its own type
+			requestBody.tool_choice = (metadata?.tool_choice ?? "auto") as any
+			requestBody.parallel_tool_calls = metadata?.parallelToolCalls ?? true
+		}
+
+		// Pass reasoning effort for models that support it (e.g., mini models)
+		if (model.reasoning) {
+			requestBody.reasoning = model.reasoning
+		}
+
+		let stream: AsyncIterable<any>
 		try {
-			stream = await this.client.responses.create({
-				model: model.id,
-				instructions: systemPrompt,
-				input: input,
-				max_output_tokens: model.info.maxTokens,
-				temperature: this.options.modelTemperature ?? XAI_DEFAULT_TEMPERATURE,
+			stream = (await this.client.responses.create({
+				...requestBody,
 				stream: true,
-				store: false, // Don't store responses server-side for privacy
-				tools: responseTools,
-				// Cast tool_choice since metadata uses Chat Completions types but Responses API has its own type
-				tool_choice: (metadata?.tool_choice ?? (responseTools ? "auto" : undefined)) as any,
-				parallel_tool_calls: metadata?.parallelToolCalls ?? true,
-				include: ["reasoning.encrypted_content"],
-			})
+			} as any)) as unknown as AsyncIterable<any>
 		} catch (error) {
 			const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)
 			const apiError = new ApiProviderError(errorMessage, this.providerName, model.id, "createMessage")
@@ -121,20 +151,8 @@ export class XAIHandler extends BaseProvider implements SingleCompletionHandler
 				store: false,
 			})
 
-			// Extract text from the response output
-			const output = (response as any).output
-			if (Array.isArray(output)) {
-				for (const item of output) {
-					if (item.type === "message" && Array.isArray(item.content)) {
-						for (const content of item.content) {
-							if (content.type === "output_text" && content.text) {
-								return content.text
-							}
-						}
-					}
-				}
-			}
-			return (response as any).output_text || ""
+			// output_text is a convenience field on the Responses API response
+			return response.output_text || ""
 		} catch (error) {
 			const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)
 			const apiError = new ApiProviderError(errorMessage, this.providerName, model.id, "completePrompt")
diff --git a/src/api/transform/responses-api-stream.ts b/src/api/transform/responses-api-stream.ts
index 1ea9744180..884a755136 100644
--- a/src/api/transform/responses-api-stream.ts
+++ b/src/api/transform/responses-api-stream.ts
@@ -131,8 +131,8 @@ export function createUsageNormalizer(
 			type: "usage",
 			inputTokens,
 			outputTokens,
-			cacheReadTokens,
 			cacheWriteTokens,
+			cacheReadTokens,
 			...(typeof reasoningTokens === "number" ? { reasoningTokens } : {}),
 			...(typeof totalCost === "number" ? { totalCost } : {}),
 		}