# WhatCable

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/whatcable/

14 people recommended WhatCable in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 4 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Shows what power and data a USB-C cable supports, useful for sorting cables; open source with GUI and CLI. Critics say its reports are no better than packaging claims.

Summary written by Claude from 15 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Shows cable power and data capabilities (3 comments in the sample): "to know what power and data capabilities your cables support" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48914688)) "very useful to see what a cable is capable of" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49206822)) "Been amazing at finally knowing cable speed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49204458))
- Sorts cables without guesswork (2 comments in the sample): "it seems like it will easily beat my previous strategy of plugging things in randomly" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48914628)) "That's enough for me to sort my cables." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49314170))
- Runs on macOS and Windows (2 comments in the sample): "Check this for more details on Windows (original author's repo" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49302420)) "on Macs you can also use the WhatCable app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49204614))

## What people warn about

- Website copy reads as AI-generated (1 comment in the sample): "the website copy is full of GPT-isms, which makes me suspect that some of the output might be assumed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49299521))

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "WhatCable", https://hackerapproved.com/p/whatcable/ (14 recommend, 1 mixed, 2 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.