I built a small free tool called USB Device Identifier
It helps identify USB devices by showing their Vendor ID (VID) and Product ID (PID).
How it works:
Live detection via the WebUSB API (works in Chrome, Edge, and Opera).
Manual lookup that queries two sources:
- A small community database where people can add missing devices and leave comments
- The upstream Linux USB ID Repository (usb.ids) for broad coverage.
Why not just use lsusb or Device Manager?
It runs in the browser, cross-platform, with no install.
It’s a bit more approachable for students/makers who don’t want to dig into system commands.
Results are enriched (not just raw hex), and people can improve entries over time.
Privacy: nothing is logged to the database unless you explicitly submit a contribution or comment.
Example: I plugged in a generic USB audio dongle that showed up as “Unknown” in Windows. With the tool I got the VID/PID instantly and found the right driver.
It’s still early and simple, but hopefully useful. I’d really appreciate feedback on:
Hi HN,
I built a small free tool called USB Device Identifier
It helps identify USB devices by showing their Vendor ID (VID) and Product ID (PID).
How it works:
Why not just use lsusb or Device Manager?It runs in the browser, cross-platform, with no install.
It’s a bit more approachable for students/makers who don’t want to dig into system commands.
Results are enriched (not just raw hex), and people can improve entries over time.
Privacy: nothing is logged to the database unless you explicitly submit a contribution or comment.
Example: I plugged in a generic USB audio dongle that showed up as “Unknown” in Windows. With the tool I got the VID/PID instantly and found the right driver.
It’s still early and simple, but hopefully useful. I’d really appreciate feedback on:
- How well it works for you
- UI/UX or compatibility improvements
- Suggestions to grow the database
Thanks for taking a look