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balena-io/etcher

Open-source OS image flasher for writing disk images to SD cards and USB drives, with checks that the data was written correctly.

Open-source alternative to:RufusWin32 Disk Imager

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What is it?

Etcher is a desktop application for flashing OS images onto SD cards and USB drives. It is built with web technologies and aims to make the process simple and safe, guarding against accidentally writing to a system hard drive.

After writing, Etcher verifies that every byte was written correctly. It can also flash Raspberry Pi devices that support USB device boot mode directly.

Etcher runs on Linux (most distributions, Intel 64-bit), Windows 10 and later (Intel 64-bit), and macOS 10.13 and later on both Intel and Apple Silicon. Installers and packages are available for .deb, .rpm, the Arch User Repository, WinGet and Chocolatey.

Key features

  • 01Protects against accidentally writing to hard drives.
  • 02Verifies that every byte was written correctly.
  • 03Directly flashes Raspberry Pi devices that support USB device boot mode.
  • 04Available on Linux, Windows and macOS, including Apple Silicon.

Use cases

  • Preparing a Raspberry Pi SD card with a Raspberry Pi OS or other system image.
  • Creating a bootable USB drive from an ISO for installing an operating system.
  • Flashing embedded board images onto removable media with a verified write.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install on Debian or Ubuntu by downloading the .deb package from the GitHub releases page, then install it with apt

    sudo apt install ./balena-etcher_******_amd64.deb
  2. 2

    Install on Windows with WinGet

    winget install balenaEtcher #or Balena.Etcher
  3. 3

    Install on Windows with Chocolatey

    choco install etcher
  4. 4

    On Arch or Manjaro, install from the AUR with an AUR helper

    yay -S balena-etcher

Things to know

  • Supports only Intel 64-bit Linux, Windows 10 and later, and macOS 10.13 and later.

Topics

#flashing#sd-card#usb-drive#raspberry-pi#electron#cross-platform#disk-image#etcher#sd-cards#usb-drives

FAQ

What is etcher?
Open-source OS image flasher for writing disk images to SD cards and USB drives, with checks that the data was written correctly. Etcher is a desktop application for flashing OS images onto SD cards and USB drives. It is built with web technologies and aims to make the process simple and safe, guarding against accidentally writing to a system hard drive.
Is etcher free to use? What license does it have?
etcher is open source under the Apache-2.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is etcher still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to etcher was on Oct 21, 2026.
What can I use etcher for?
Preparing a Raspberry Pi SD card with a Raspberry Pi OS or other system image. Creating a bootable USB drive from an ISO for installing an operating system. Flashing embedded board images onto removable media with a verified write.
How do I install etcher?
Install on Debian or Ubuntu by downloading the .deb package from the GitHub releases page, then install it with apt: sudo apt install ./balena-etcher_******_amd64.deb Install on Windows with WinGet: winget install balenaEtcher #or Balena.Etcher Install on Windows with Chocolatey: choco install etcher On Arch or Manjaro, install from the AUR with an AUR helper: yay -S balena-etcher
Where can I get etcher?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/balena-io/etcher

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