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There’s a new macOS menu bar app that’s genuinely more useful than a quick calendar or window manager. Launched in May 2026, WhatCable is a free and completely open source menu bar application that lets you run a scan on USB cables to determine exactly what they can do. It will give you a complete overview of the specifications, the type of chips it contains, and its value.
USB-C has become the rightfully dominant cable, with the European Union even managing to force Apple’s hand to ditch the Lightning cable on iPhones in order to ensure the cable’s ubiquity and unilateral support for its citizens. The simplicity, however, raised a problem that’s been bubbling since the introduction of USB-C: What’s the difference between all these cables? USB4 and USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 share the same housing, as do the very cheap cables that litter online storefronts. Some USB-C cables are designed simply for charging, not even for carrying data.
WhatCable aims to eliminate this confusion, so you can ensure that you are using the best cables for data transfers or charging purposes. On the app’s GitHub page, developer Darryl Morley lists in detail what the app can do, from load and data speed diagnostics to confidence signals to determine if it’s an “unusual” cable. WhatCable also has its own notifications when things are connected or disconnected, and it can be run from the macOS Dock rather than the menu bar.
WhatCable Alternatives on Linux and Windows
This is great for those of us with a macOS device, but what about those on Linux and Windows? Well, on Windows it seems there is no immediate software equivalent. Here you will have to rely on hardware alternatives such as Amazon’s Treedix USB Tester. This device will give you the complete cable summary. It comes in three versions, ranging from $15.99, $18.99, or $49.99, depending on how fancy you want it.
The Treedix uses LEDs on the board to indicate the type of cable it has detected. Practically speaking, there is a visual guide online, and it seems simple enough to follow. Until someone ports the WhatCable app from macOS to Windows, there are currently no software options.
On Linux, fortunately, due to the nature of open source, some smart developers have managed to port WhatCable. Going through GitHub, there are terminal builds, dedicated KDE Plasma widgets, and a Gnome-based version (which will be compatible with those not running the Gnome desktop environment). The KDE version works on the terminal and with the GUI, so you can get all the information you need, however you want.
