Caret

What is Caret?

Caret is an AI coding partner that lives inside Visual Studio Code. Built on the open-source Cline project, it adds free monthly credits, a dual-mode experience, custom personas, and support for more than 260 models from 31 providers. Caret is designed for developers who want flexible, transparent, and deeply customizable AI coding help.

Top Features:

• 266 Model Support: choose from Claude, GPT, Gemini, Ollama local models, and region-specific options.
• Dual Mode: switch between pure Cline workflows and the expanded Caret experience anytime.
• Custom Personas: shape your AI teammate with different personalities and skill focuses on demand.
• Monthly Free Credits: every new user gets free credits to try the latest frontier models.
• Multilingual UI: complete interface in English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, French, German, and Russian.
• Image and Document Tools: generate images, analyze pictures, search the web, and read documents.

Use Cases:

• Autonomous Coding: let Caret build features, refactor code, and run tasks with your approval.
• Code Review: ask the AI to spot bugs, suggest improvements, and explain tricky code sections.
• Local Development: run models on Ollama to keep sensitive codebases fully on-device.

Who Can Use Caret?

• Solo Developers: get a capable AI pair programmer with free credits and many model choices.
• Teams: standardize on personas and workflows so everyone codes with consistent AI support.
• Enterprises: deploy sovereign region-specific models and protect individual workflow privacy.

Pricing

• Free Credits: new users get monthly free credits to try premium models right away.
• Pay-As-You-Go: plans priced at 10 credits per US dollar with transparent consumption.
• Enterprise (contact): custom scale, private deployments, and advanced admin features included.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Huge Model Library: 266 models across 31 providers keeps you future-proof against changes.
• Open-Source Base: built on Cline with 100% compatibility for existing Cline workflows.
• Free Starter Credits: try advanced models without any upfront financial commitment required.

Cons:

• VS Code Only: not yet available for JetBrains IDEs or other popular code editors.
• Credit Complexity: tracking per-model credit cost adds a small mental overhead for users.
• Persona Setup: getting the best results takes time tuning personas to specific tasks.

FAQs:

1) What is Caret built on?

Caret is built on the open-source Cline project with added features, credits, and personas.

2) Is Caret free to try?

Yes, new users receive monthly free credits to use premium frontier coding models.

3) Can I run local models?

Yes, Caret integrates with Ollama so you can run models on your own hardware.

4) Which IDE does Caret support?

Caret is a Visual Studio Code extension available through the official marketplace today.

5) How many AI models are supported?

Caret supports 266 models across 31 providers including Claude, GPT, and Gemini.