css shorthand property

`caret` CSS property

Limited availability

The caret shorthand CSS property sets the appearance and behavior of the insertion caret in a single declaration.

Interactive exampleOpen the canonical MDN source to run this embedded demo.

caret: red;

caret: block manual;

caret: underscore auto green;

caret: bar manual orange;

<section class="default-example container" id="default-example">
  <div>
    <label for="example-element">Edit text field:</label>
    <input id="example-element" type="text" value="Sample text" />
  </div>
</section>

div {
  text-align: left;
}

#example-element {
  font-size: 1.2rem;
  padding: 8px;
  width: 300px;
}

Constituent properties

This property is a shorthand for the following CSS properties:

Syntax

/* Individual values */
caret: red; /* caret-color only */
caret: block; /* caret-shape only */
caret: manual; /* caret-animation only */

/* Two values */
caret: red manual; /* caret-color + caret-animation */
caret: block auto; /* caret-shape + caret-animation */
caret: underscore orange; /* caret-shape + caret-color */

/* Three values */
caret: bar manual red; /* caret-shape + caret-animation + caret-color */
caret: block auto #00ff00; /* caret-shape + caret-animation + caret-color */

/* Global values */
caret: inherit;
caret: initial;
caret: revert;
caret: revert-layer;
caret: unset;

The caret property is specified as one, two, or three values from the constituent properties. Values can be specified in any order, and omitted values are set to their initial values.

Values

caret-color
- : Sets the color of the caret.
caret-animation
- : Controls whether the caret blinks.
caret-shape
- : Sets the visual shape of the caret.

Description

The caret shorthand allows you to set multiple caret properties in a single declaration, making it convenient to customize the complete appearance and behavior of the insertion caret.

Value resolution

When values are omitted from the shorthand, they reset to their initial values:

caret-color: auto (resolves to currentColor).
caret-animation: auto (caret blinks).
caret-shape: auto (browser-determined shape).

Order independence

Unlike some CSS shorthands, the caret property accepts values in any order. The browser determines which value applies to which property based on the value type:

<color> values apply to caret-color.
auto/manual keywords apply to caret-animation.
Shape keywords (bar, block, underscore) apply to caret-shape.

Formal definition

Formal syntax

Examples

Retro terminal with animated caret

This example creates a vintage terminal interface using the caret shorthand to combine multiple caret properties, demonstrating how it replaces older border-based techniques.

The main advantage of the caret shorthand is combining multiple properties in one declaration. Here we set the shape to block, disable default blinking, and set the color to green, all in a single line.

HTML

<label for="terminal">Enter a command</label>
<div class="old-screen">
  <span>></span>
  <textarea id="terminal" class="terminal-input"></textarea>
</div>

CSS

label {
  background: #092104;
  display: block;
  padding: 10px 20px;
  color: #00ad00;
  font-weight: bold;
  font-family: monospace;
}

.old-screen {
  background: repeating-linear-gradient(
    #092104,
    #092104 2px,
    #123208 2px,
    #123208 4px
  );
  height: 140px;
  display: flex;
  align-items: flex-start;
  padding: 20px;
  font-family: monospace;
}

span {
  display: inline-block;
  padding: 2px 5px;
  color: #00ad00;
  font-weight: bold;
  margin-right: 8px;
}

.terminal-input {
  background: transparent;
  height: 100%;
  border: none;
  color: #00ad00;
  font-family: inherit;
  font-size: 1rem;
  outline: none;
  flex: 1;
  resize: none;
}

.terminal-input {
  caret: block manual green;
  animation: vintage-caret 2s infinite;
}

@keyframes vintage-caret {
  0%,
  50% {
    caret-color: #00ad00;
  }
  75%,
  100% {
    caret-color: transparent;
  }
}

Result