WhatCable
Cable checker app in Computers
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.
14 people recommended WhatCable in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 15 comments.
17 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 14
- mixed feelings
- 1
- warn against or regret it
- 2
The record
Recommended in 3 of 12 months
In 4 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 14 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 4 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- The biggest thread supplies 36% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 15 of the 17 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Shows cable power and data capabilities
“to know what power and data capabilities your cables support”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “I'm a USB-C Maximalist” “very useful to see what a cable is capable of”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “I stopped trusting USB-C cable labels and started testing them” “Been amazing at finally knowing cable speed”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “I stopped trusting USB-C cable labels and started testing them” Sorts cables without guesswork
“it seems like it will easily beat my previous strategy of plugging things in randomly”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “I'm a USB-C Maximalist” “That's enough for me to sort my cables.”
Comment from 15 Aug 2026 in “WhatCable: Know what your USB-C cable can do” Runs on macOS and Windows
“Check this for more details on Windows (original author's repo”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “WhatCable: Know what your USB-C cable can do” “on Macs you can also use the WhatCable app”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “I stopped trusting USB-C cable labels and started testing them”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Website copy reads as AI-generated
“the website copy is full of GPT-isms, which makes me suspect that some of the output might be assumed”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “WhatCable: Know what your USB-C cable can do”
What people said
15 of the 17 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“That's enough for me to sort my cables.”
“Check this for more details on Windows (original author's repo”
“What these tools report are not functionally different from just believing "what's on the packaging”
“definitely worth my ten quid”
“the website copy is full of GPT-isms, which makes me suspect that some of the output might be assumed”
“very useful to see what a cable is capable of”
“This is really good. The base is open source, and has both GUI and a CLI.”
“on Macs you can also use the WhatCable app”
“Been amazing at finally knowing cable speed”
“to know what power and data capabilities your cables support”
“it seems like it will easily beat my previous strategy of plugging things in randomly”
“This is so cool that we can port useful stuff like this in minutes”
“Quite impressive, indeed.”
“incorporating feedback from HN on the fly!”
“WhatCable says "No USB-C Ports Detected”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.