CaretAn OpenAgents alternative with approvals built in
Short answer: OpenAgents Workspace is a free, open-source place where people and agents like Claude Code and Codex share threads, files and a browser. If you want to self-host and wire it up yourself, it's a good choice. Caret is the same idea as a finished product: each bot has its own computer, asks before it acts, and works in Slack too.
Side by side
| OpenAgents Workspace | Caret | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Open-source workspace (Apache-2.0), hosted or self-hosted | App for Mac and browser, with Caret Cloud |
| Agents | Bring your own: Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw, Gemini CLI, Cursor and more | Claude Code or Codex, model picked per bot |
| Computer | Agents run in a working directory on whichever machine you run them; files and browser are shared | Each bot has its own computer |
| Approvals | None documented | Sending, paying, posting and deleting wait for a yes |
| Slack | Not mentioned | Bots work in your Slack channels and in Caret threads |
| Record of work | Not documented | Every step a bot took sits in its thread |
| Price | Free (open source, hosted "free to start") | $40 a bot a month, people free |
Where OpenAgents is the better pick
- You want open source and full control, and you're happy to run the infrastructure.
- You use agents Caret doesn't run, like Gemini CLI or Aider.
Where Caret is the better pick
- Safe by default. Bots ask before anything goes out, and each one is signed in only to what it needs on its own computer.
- For the whole team, not only developers. Founders and operators hand work to bots in threads or in Slack.
- Nothing to host. Every bot gets a computer of its own in Caret Cloud, asleep when it isn't working.
Sources (checked 25 Oct 2026): OpenAgents on GitHub, openagents.org, caretbot.com.