Cat Financial Financing Activities - Investment in Finance Receivables on Non-Accrual Status (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2023	Dec. 31, 2022
Financing Receivable, Nonaccrual
Period after which collection of future income is considered not probable	120 days
Customer
Financing Receivable, Nonaccrual
Amortized cost of finance receivables	$ 534	$ 405
Non-accrual With an Allowance	206	156
Non-accrual Without an Allowance	0	16
91+ Still Accruing	27	28
North America \| Customer
Financing Receivable, Nonaccrual
Non-accrual With an Allowance	54	52
Non-accrual Without an Allowance	0	4
91+ Still Accruing	15	11
EAME \| Customer
Financing Receivable, Nonaccrual
Non-accrual With an Allowance	44	43
Non-accrual Without an Allowance	0	0
91+ Still Accruing	7	10
Asia/ Pacific \| Customer
Financing Receivable, Nonaccrual
Non-accrual With an Allowance	10	11
Non-accrual Without an Allowance	0	0
91+ Still Accruing	5	7
Mining \| Customer
Financing Receivable, Nonaccrual
Non-accrual With an Allowance	3	0
Non-accrual Without an Allowance	0	1
91+ Still Accruing	0	0
Latin America \| Dealer
Financing Receivable, Nonaccrual
Non-accrual With an Allowance	43	58
Latin America \| Dealer \| Financing Receivables, Equal to or Greater than 30 Days Past Due
Financing Receivable, Nonaccrual
Amortized cost of finance receivables	43	58
Latin America \| Customer
Financing Receivable, Nonaccrual
Non-accrual With an Allowance	85	45
Non-accrual Without an Allowance	0	0
91+ Still Accruing	0	0
Power Finance \| Customer
Financing Receivable, Nonaccrual
Non-accrual With an Allowance	10	5
Non-accrual Without an Allowance	0	11
91+ Still Accruing	$ 0	$ 0

Financing Receivables that are 91 days or more past due and still accruing.

No definition available.

Name:	cat_FinancingReceivable91dayspastdueandstillaccruing
Namespace Prefix:	cat_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

This element represents the period after which collection of future income is considered as not probable.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cat_PeriodAfterWhichCollectionOfFutureIncomeIsConsideredAsNotProbable
Namespace Prefix:	cat_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amortized cost of financing receivable on nonaccrual status with no allowance for credit loss. Excludes net investment in lease.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Topic 326
-SubTopic 20
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 16
-Subparagraph (d)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147479319/326-20-50-16

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableNonaccrualNoAllowance
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Topic 326
-SubTopic 20
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 16
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147479319/326-20-50-16

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableNonaccrualStatusLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amortized cost of financing receivable originated more than five years prior to current fiscal year. Excludes net investment in lease.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Topic 326
-SubTopic 20
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 55
-Paragraph 79
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147479294/326-20-55-79

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Topic 326
-SubTopic 20
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 6
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147479319/326-20-50-6

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableOriginatedFiveOrMoreYearsBeforeLatestFiscalYear
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amortized cost of financing receivable on nonaccrual status. Excludes net investment in lease.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Topic 326
-SubTopic 20
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 16
-Subparagraph (a)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147479319/326-20-50-16

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Name Regulation S-K (SK)
-Number 229
-Section 1405
-Paragraph (a)
-Subparagraph (3)
-Publisher SEC

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Name Regulation S-K (SK)
-Number 229
-Section 1405
-Paragraph (a)
-Subparagraph (2)
-Publisher SEC

Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 310
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 7
-Subparagraph (a)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147481962/310-10-50-7

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentNonaccrualStatus
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivablePortfolioSegmentAxis=cat_CustomerMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentByClassOfFinancingReceivableAxis=srt_NorthAmericaMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentByClassOfFinancingReceivableAxis=us-gaap_EMEAMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentByClassOfFinancingReceivableAxis=srt_AsiaPacificMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentByClassOfFinancingReceivableAxis=cat_MiningMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentByClassOfFinancingReceivableAxis=srt_LatinAmericaMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivablePortfolioSegmentAxis=cat_DealerMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InternalCreditAssessmentAxis=cat_FinancingReceivablesEqualToOrGreaterThan31DaysPastDueMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentByClassOfFinancingReceivableAxis=cat_CaterpillarPowerFinanceMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: