# The Car Hacker's Handbook by Craig Smith

3 Hacker News commenters recommended The Car Hacker's Handbook by Craig Smith and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a first step into car hacking, and one commenter says it covers the software side as well as the rest. No critics raised complaints.

## Why people recommend it

- Covers everything needed, including software (1 comments): "Gives you all the info you need including software." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48842237))
- Good place to start (2 comments): "That one is good. I did actually start there" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48854259)) "may be of interest as a first step review" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46189194))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Applied Cryptography by Bruce Schneier](https://hackerapproved.com/p/applied-cryptography.md): 3 recommend
- [Hacking the Xbox by Andrew Huang](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hacking-the-xbox.md): 3 recommend
- [Silence on the Wire by Michal Zalewski](https://hackerapproved.com/p/silence-on-the-wire.md): 2 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1593277032?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781593277031) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Car Hacker's Handbook by Craig Smith", https://hackerapproved.com/p/car-hacker-s-handbook/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).