Capsule with a shell made without raw materials of animal origin, for example from a suitable derived cellulose material. The term may refer to the casing itself, so it does not automatically determine the entire preparation. When assessing the compatibility of a product with a vegan diet, you also need to check the other ingredients and the manufacturer's declaration. Vegan does not mean the absence of allergens.
The envelope and its contents are two levels
Vegan coatings may be made of materials such as hydroxypropylmethylcellulose or pullulan. This is information about part of the product, not an automatic confirmation of all the ingredients inside. Content may include material of other origins. The appearance of the transparent capsule also makes it impossible to distinguish it from the gelatin one. If you have dietary restrictions, you should check the full declaration and composition, instead of making conclusions based on photos or the color of the shell.
The color of the shell may be due to additives and does not identify the base material. Opening the capsule is also not a neutral way to bypass the capsule: it may change the way the product is used. If such a change is necessary, check the instructions instead of deriving it from the plant origin of the material.
Meaning and application
The capsule name can only refer to the shell material. This is useful information, but not sufficient to assess the origin of all ingredients. Separate the question about the coating from the question about the entire finished supplement.
In practice
Read the composition of the contents and casing as well as the full manufacturer's declaration. Check that the data applies to the current version. Do not open the capsule and do not change the way you take it to bypass the undesirable packaging material yourself.
Do not judge the quality of the preparation solely by the type of capsule. Also compare ingredients, quantities, servings and warnings. The vegan casing does not confirm the lack of allergens, compatibility with any diet or greater effectiveness of the contents.