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caret-color

The caret-color CSS property sets the color of the insertion caret—the visible indicator of the point at which the next character typed by the user will be inserted—within an element such as <input> or one with the contenteditable attribute set. The caret is typically a thin vertical line that flashes to help make it more noticeable. By default, it is black, but its color can be altered with this property.

/* Keyword values */
caret-color: auto;
caret-color: transparent;
caret-color: currentColor;

/* <color> values */
caret-color: red;
caret-color: #5729e9;
caret-color: rgb(0, 200, 0);
caret-color: hsla(228, 4%, 24%, 0.8);

Note: The insertion caret is only one type of caret. For example, many browsers have a “navigation caret,” which acts similarly to an insertion caret but can be moved around in non-editable text. On the other hand, the mouse cursor image shown when hovering over text where the cursor property is auto, or when hovering over an element where the cursor property is text or vertical-text, though it sometimes looks like a caret, is not a caret (it’s a cursor).

Initial value	`auto`
Applies to	all elements
Inherited	yes
Media	interactive
Computed value	`auto` is computed as specified and `<color>` values are computed as defined for the `color` property.
Animation type	a color
Canonical order	per grammar

Syntax

Values

auto: The user agent selects an appropriate color for the caret. This is generally currentcolor, but the user agent may choose a different color to ensure good visibility and contrast with the surrounding content, taking into account the value of currentcolor, the background, shadows, and other factors.

Note: While user agents may use currentcolor (which is usually animatable) for the auto value, auto is not interpolated in transitions and animations.
<color>: The color of the caret.

Formal syntax

auto | <color>where 
<color> = <rgb()> | <rgba()> | <hsl()> | <hsla()> | <hex-color> | <named-color> | currentcolor | <deprecated-system-color>
where 
<rgb()> = rgb( [ [ <percentage>{3} | <number>{3} ] [ / <alpha-value> ]? ] | [ [ <percentage>#{3} | <number>#{3} ] , <alpha-value>? ] )
<rgba()> = rgba( [ [ <percentage>{3} | <number>{3} ] [ / <alpha-value> ]? ] | [ [ <percentage>#{3} | <number>#{3} ] , <alpha-value>? ] )
<hsl()> = hsl( [ <hue> <percentage> <percentage> [ / <alpha-value> ]? ] | [ <hue>, <percentage>, <percentage>, <alpha-value>? ] )
<hsla()> = hsla( [ <hue> <percentage> <percentage> [ / <alpha-value> ]? ] | [ <hue>, <percentage>, <percentage>, <alpha-value>? ] )
where 
<alpha-value> = <number> | <percentage>
<hue> = <number> | <angle>

Example

HTML

<input value="This field uses a default caret." size="64"/>
<input class="custom" value="I have a custom caret color!" size="64"/>
<p contenteditable class="custom">This paragraph can be
   edited, and its caret has a custom color as well!</p>

CSS

input {
  caret-color: auto;
  display: block;
  margin-bottom: .5em;
}

input.custom {
  caret-color: red;
}


p.custom {
  caret-color: green;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Basic User Interface Module Level 3 The definition of 'caret-color' in that specification.	Proposed Recommendation	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Feature	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari
Basic support	57	No	53	No	44	No

Feature	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Edge mobile	Firefox for Android	IE mobile	Opera Android	iOS Safari
Basic support	57	57	No	53	No	44	No