GoKawiilWhatCable
What can this USB-C cable actually do?
A small macOS menu bar app that tells you, in plain English, what each USB-C cable plugged into your Mac can actually do, and why your Mac might be charging slowly.
USB-C hides a lot under one connector. Anything from a USB 2.0 charge-only cable to a 240W / 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 cable, all looking identical in your drawer. macOS already exposes the relevant info via IOKit; WhatCable surfaces it as a friendly menu bar popover.
What it shows
Per port, in plain English:
At-a-glance headline — Thunderbolt / USB4, USB device, Charging only, Slow USB / charge-only cable, Nothing connected
— Thunderbolt / USB4, USB device, Charging only, Slow USB / charge-only cable, Nothing connected Charging diagnostic — when something's plugged in, a banner identifies the bottleneck: "Cable is limiting charging speed" (cable rated below the charger) "Charging at 30W (charger can do up to 96W)" (Mac is asking for less, e.g. battery near full) "Charging well at 96W" (everything matches)
— when something's plugged in, a banner identifies the bottleneck: Cable e-marker info — the cable's actual speed (USB 2.0, 5 / 10 / 20 / 40 / 80 Gbps), current rating (3 A / 5 A → up to 60W / 100W / 240W), and the chip's vendor
— the cable's actual speed (USB 2.0, 5 / 10 / 20 / 40 / 80 Gbps), current rating (3 A / 5 A → up to 60W / 100W / 240W), and the chip's vendor Charger PDO list — every voltage profile the charger advertises (5V / 9V / 12V / 15V / 20V…) with the currently negotiated profile highlighted in real time
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