Claude Code
Website: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/setup
The Claude Code provider lets you use your existing Claude subscription with Caret. If you have Claude Max or Pro, this means you can use Claude in Caret without paying extra API costs.

Setup
First, you'll need to install and authenticate Claude Code on your system:
-
Install Claude Code: Follow Anthropic's official setup guide to install and authenticate the Claude CLI.
-
Configure in Caret:
- Open Caret settings (⚙️ icon)
- Select Claude Code from the API Provider dropdown
- Set the path to your Claude CLI executable (usually just
claude
if it's in your PATH)

Anthropic introduced full support for Claude Code on Windows. Follow the instructions on how to set up Claude Code normally and make sure you have the latest Claude Code and Caret versions.
Finding your Claude Code path
If you're not sure where Claude Code is installed:
- macOS / Linux: Run
which claude
in your terminal - Windows (Command Prompt): Run
where claude
- Windows (PowerShell): Run
Get-Command claude
Supported Models
The Claude Code provider supports these models:
claude-sonnet-4-20250514
(Recommended)claude-opus-4-1-20250805
claude-opus-4-20250514
claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219
claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022
claude-3-5-haiku-20241022
How it works
When you use Claude Code with Caret, here's what happens behind the scenes:
Caret wraps the Claude Code CLI to handle your requests. Each time you send a message, Caret starts a new claude
process, sends your conversation, and streams the response back. The AI reasoning comes from Claude Code, but all the actual file editing, terminal commands, and other tools are handled by Caret.
The main difference you'll notice is that responses don't stream character-by-character like other providers. Instead, Claude Code processes your full request before sending back the complete response.
Limitations
There are a few things to keep in mind with Claude Code:
- Images in your messages get converted to text placeholders since Claude Code doesn't support image uploads through the CLI
- Prompt caching isn't available with this provider
- Responses don't stream in real-time like other providers
Troubleshooting
If you run into issues:
Authentication problems: Make sure you're logged into Claude Code with your subscription account. Run claude auth status
to check.
Path issues: Double-check that the Claude CLI path in Caret's settings is correct. Try running claude --version
in your terminal to verify it's working.
Still having trouble? We're actively improving this integration. Report issues on our GitHub or ask for help in our Discord.
Usage with subscriptions
If you have a Claude Max subscription, your usage in Caret shows up as $0.00 in the billing interface since you're not paying additional API costs. Your usage still counts against your subscription limits, but you won't see per-token charges.
For more details about using Claude Code with your subscription, check out Anthropic's documentation: