AI Persona Customization
Caret's persona system lets you customize your AI's name and avatar, allowing you to create a personalized coding partner that truly feels like your own.
What is a Persona?
A persona defines the following elements of your AI assistant:
- Name: The display name for your AI
- Avatar Image: The image shown in default state
- Thinking Image: The image displayed when the AI is working
- Personality Definition: Define your AI's tone and behavior with a persona.md file
Built-in Personas
Caret provides 5 template personas out of the box:
🤖 Caret
- A friendly robot companion
- Default persona
💖 Oh Sarang
- K-POP idol developer
- Bright and positive tone
🪟 Madobe Ichika
- Windows 11 OS-tan
- Professional and efficient
🍎 Cyan Macin
- macOS assistant
- Refined and elegant style
🐧 Tando Ubuntu
- Open source collaborator
- Community-oriented
How to Use Personas
Selecting a Persona
- Open settings (⚙️)
- Find the Persona Management section
- Click the Select Persona Template button
- Choose your desired persona
Switching Templates
You can switch to a different template at any time from the settings screen.
Creating a Custom Persona
Uploading Images
Caret uses 2 different images for each persona:
1. Normal Image
- Displayed in default state
- Click "Upload Normal Image" in settings
- Select an image file (all image formats supported)
2. Thinking Image
- Displayed when AI is working
- Click "Upload Thinking Image" in settings
- Select an image file
Storage: Images are automatically saved to VS Code's internal storage.
Defining Personality (persona.md)
You can define your AI's personality and tone of voice using a persona.md file.
Storage Location:
~/Documents/Caret/Rules/persona.md
Example:
You are a kind and professional development partner.
Always respond in Korean and include comments when explaining code.
Explain changes step by step and specify the reason for each step.
Changes take effect immediately when you save the file.
Persona vs Rules
| Item | Persona | Rules (.caretrules) |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | AI name, image, personality | Coding guidelines |
| Storage Location | Global (VS Code internal + persona.md) | Project folder |
| Combination | Used together with rules | Used together with persona |
Best Results: Use persona + project rules together for optimal results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does the persona affect AI performance? A: If you give negative personality traits in the persona definition (persona.md), it can impact the AI's work quality. Avoid expressions like "makes many mistakes" or "passive."
Q: Can I use different personas for different projects?
A: No. Personas are managed globally only. If you need project-specific customization, write project-specific instructions in your .caretrules file. (However, since images are global, they cannot be changed per project)
Q: Where are personas stored?
A: Images are stored in VS Code's internal storage (globalStorage), and persona.md is stored in ~/Documents/Caret/Rules/.
Q: Are there size or format restrictions for images? A: All image formats are supported with no size restrictions. Images are automatically converted to base64 when uploaded.
Next Steps
The persona system is exclusive to Caret. Cline does not have this feature.