negative battery cable.
 

So Im replacing the negative battery cable on my truck after it was torn up and damaged when my truck got whacked. The cable leads all the way to the starter and mounts there, but there is a small metal bracket that attaches it to the frame, right in front of the passenger side coil spring. Im just curious if that thing is just there to hold the wire in place, or if it is used to ground out the wire.

It's the frame ground - VERY important.

https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/...rtwire9296.jpg
(phone app link)

What did you plan to replace it with? A common aftermarket generic black battery cable? Or a specific cable made for that truck? Or are you building your own?

The cable I have is just a generic cable that is the same length and gauge as the original, and it does have the smaller wire that come out of the terminal connector.
I did get the ground connector off of the original cable and it is in pretty good shape. So Im hoping to just unsheathe a small section on the new wire and attach it there, but if i cant do that, then ill have to find an exact oem cable.

By "attach", I hope you mean "solder". ;) That would be the best way to do it.No, you can simply buy another shorter eye-to-eye black cable, and run it from the block ground bolt back to the frame ground bolt. But make SURE the battery cable eye is the one against the block, and that the block is clean & shiny.

https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/...ail/g103v8.jpg
(phone app link)

https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/...017_172050.jpg
(phone app link)