Get WhatCable on macOS and Linux Now!
macOS menu bar app that tells you, in plain English, what each USB-C cable plugged into your Mac can actually do
Get WhatCable with one command
Pick your system, reveal the step-by-step guide, copy the command, paste it into your terminal and press Enter. This command comes from the project's public source.
Not available for Windows yet.
WhatCable doesn't publish an install command for Windows anywhere we can verify, so there's nothing for us to show you. We won't invent one. It does document one for macOS and Linux — switch to that tab.
Pastes into PowerShell and installs WhatCable on your Windows machine in one step. Runs as your normal user account, and needs no administrator rights.
Not available for macOS yet.
WhatCable doesn't publish an install command for macOS or Linux anywhere we can verify, so there's nothing for us to show you. We won't invent one.
Installs WhatCable on your macOS or Linux machine and links it into your PATH — after this,
WhatCable just works from any directory. Runs as your normal user account, and needs no administrator rights.
How to set up WhatCable, step by step
Open Terminal. On a Mac it's in Applications ▸ Utilities, or press Cmd+Space and type Terminal. On Linux, press Ctrl+Alt+T. Paste the command and press Enter.
Run WhatCable --help to see the available commands, and
WhatCable --version to confirm the install worked. If your shell complains about
permissions, that project usually documents a corrected command on its own site.
This asks Homebrew to fetch WhatCable and link it into /opt/homebrew/bin (Apple Silicon) or /usr/local/bin (Intel), so you can run it by name.
What WhatCable does
- Run as a regular Dock app instead of a menu bar icon
- Works even on Macs that don't expose live per-port metering
- Run on your files to check for syntax errors
- Connected device identity: vendor name and product type, decoded from the PD Discover Identity response
- Desktop widget: small, medium, and large WidgetKit widgets showing live cable status on your desktop
- Pick the menu bar icon, and show the live charging wattage next to it as either a number or a small fill bar
Summarised from WhatCable's own documentation.
About WhatCable
macOS menu bar app that tells you, in plain English, what each USB-C cable plugged into your Mac can actually do
| Category | Developer tool |
|---|---|
| Install method | Homebrew |
| Windows | no install command published |
| macOS / Linux | documented install command available |
| Price | Free and open source |
| Command verified | From project source |
| Popularity | 8.8k stars on the project's public repository |
On mobile
WhatCable is a command-line tool, so there is no phone app for it — a phone has no shell to run it in. You'll need a desktop, or a remote shell into a machine that has one.
WhatCable is developed by its own authors. This page is an independent reference; we are not affiliated with or sponsored by the project. The command shown here was reproduced from the project's public documentation — always check the project's own documentation before running anything.