darrylmorley/whatcable v0.10.2

v0.10.2: Better explanation for low-wattage chargers, expanded vendor list, searchable cable database online

on GitHub

Better explanation for low-wattage chargers, expanded vendor list, searchable cable database online

What's new

• Clearer wording when no e-marker has been read. macOS only runs Discover Identity SOP' on the cable when the link is negotiating above 3A. With a low-wattage charger (Apple's 20W, an 18W power bank), the cable's e-marker chip is never interrogated by the OS, even when the cable has one. WhatCable used to call this a "basic cable" with confidence. Now it says: "No e-marker detected. The cable may have one, but macOS only checks above 3A." and the catch-all subtitle says: "Try a higher-wattage charger to identify the cable." Same wording across the menu bar and CLI.

• The explanation bullet now actually shows up. A related fix: previously the "no e-marker" line was guarded so it only fired when a USB transport was active. That guard skipped exactly the case it was designed for, the "Connected" / "Couldn't determine cable type" card you'd see with a low-wattage charger and nothing else on the line. The bullet now also appears when there's a charger, a PD partner identity, or a USB device present, so the card no longer looks bare in that state. Thanks to Jared Newman (Advisorator) for the feedback that surfaced this.

• Expanded vendor list (about 14,000 vendors). The bundled USB-IF list has been merged with the community usb.ids database, adding 161 vendor names that previously read as "Unregistered / unknown" on real cables. The Cable Trust Signals flag for non-USB-IF vendors still fires correctly: usb.ids vendors get their display name but the unregistered-VID warning is preserved.

• Curated brand identification for VID-0 cables. WhatCable can now identify cables that report a zeroed Vendor ID by matching their cable VDO against a curated fingerprint database, distinguishing CUKTECH, Dockcase, and other reported VID-0 cables that previously all looked identical. Powered by the public cable database at whatcable.uk/cables.

• Searchable cable database on the website. The cable fingerprint database at whatcable.uk/cables now has client-side search: type a brand, vendor, or speed and the table filters as you type. No JavaScript dependencies; the data ships as a 5 KB JSON file alongside the page.

• Update button on the right-click Check for Updates alert. The alert that appears when an update is available now has an Update button (primary action) alongside View Release and Later, matching the in-app menu bar banner. One fewer click to install.

• CLI install instructions, refreshed. The CLI page at whatcable.uk/cli now explains where the CLI binary lives inside the app bundle and gives three install options ranked by effort: run the full path (zero setup), shell alias (no sudo), or symlink. The symlink section now covers both Apple Silicon (/opt/homebrew/bin) and Intel/legacy (/usr/local/bin), with a no-sudo ~/bin alternative.