WhatCable, a tiny menu bar app for inspecting USB-C cables
USB-C cables can be a mess. One cable charges at 5W, another does 100W and Thunderbolt 4, and they look identical in the drawer. WhatCable sits in your menu bar and reads the cable data your Mac already has access to. Plug in a cable and it tells you in plain English what it can actually do: charging wattage, data speed, display support, Thunderbolt, etc. Built in Swift/SwiftUI. Open source, free, no tracking. GitHub: https://github.com/darrylmorley/whatcable
WhatCable, a tiny menu bar app for inspecting USB-C cables launched on May 1, 2026 with 566 votes, #13 of 20,538 launches that month and more than 99% of that year's launches.
In plain words
WhatCable is a menu bar app for Mac that identifies USB-C cables and displays their capabilities in plain language. When a cable is connected, it shows charging wattage, data speed, display support, and Thunderbolt compatibility. The app reads cable data already available to macOS, requiring no additional hardware. Built in Swift and SwiftUI, WhatCable is open source, free, and includes no tracking. It solves the common problem of identical-looking USB-C cables with vastly different capabilities.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
macOS menu bar app that tells you, in plain English, what each USB-C cable plugged into your Mac can actually do - darrylmorley/whatcable
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BreakSafe Magnetic USB-C Power Cable2016 · griffintechnology.com · ▲426Griffin's safe charging solution for the new MacBook Pro
USB Connection Information2025 · apps.apple.com · ▲3Instantly check Mac USB device speeds in your menu bar
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