etcher README

The project's README from github.com/balena-io/etcher. As one markdown file: README.md.

Etcher

Flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives, safely and easily.

Etcher is a powerful OS image flasher built with web technologies to ensure flashing an SDCard or USB drive is a pleasant and safe experience. It protects you from accidentally writing to your hard-drives, ensures every byte of data was written correctly, and much more. It can also directly flash Raspberry Pi devices that support USB device boot mode.

Current Release License Balena.io Forums

Download | Support | Documentation | Contributing | Roadmap

Supported Operating Systems

Installers

Refer to the downloads page for the latest pre-made installers for all supported operating systems.

Packages

Debian and Ubuntu based Package Repository (GNU/Linux x86/x64)

Package for Debian and Ubuntu can be downloaded from the Github release page

Install .deb file using apt
   sudo apt install ./balena-etcher_******_amd64.deb
Uninstall
   sudo apt remove balena-etcher

Redhat (RHEL) and Fedora-based Package Repository (GNU/Linux x86/x64)

Yum

Package for Fedora-based and Redhat can be downloaded from the Github release page

  1. Install using yum
   sudo yum localinstall balena-etcher-***.x86_64.rpm

Arch/Manjaro Linux (GNU/Linux x64)

Etcher is offered through the Arch User Repository and can be installed on both Manjaro and Arch systems. You can compile it from the source code in this repository using balena-etcher. The following example uses a common AUR helper to install the latest release:

yay -S balena-etcher
Uninstall
yay -R balena-etcher

WinGet (Windows)

This package is updated by gh-action, and is kept up to date automatically.

winget install balenaEtcher #or Balena.Etcher
Uninstall
winget uninstall balenaEtcher

Chocolatey (Windows)

This package is maintained by @majkinetor, and is kept up to date automatically.

choco install etcher
Uninstall
choco uninstall etcher

Support

If you're having any problem, please raise an issue on GitHub, and the balena.io team will be happy to help.

License

Etcher is free software and may be redistributed under the terms specified in the license.

etcher (balena-io/etcher)

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34.5K ·GitHub
Etcher
What is this?Etcher is an open-source OS image flasher: it safely writes OS images to SD cards and USB drives, turning them into bootable media in a couple of clicks.
Is this a desktop app with a graphical interface, or a command-line utility?It is a desktop GUI application built with web technologies (Electron) — you pick an image and a target drive in a normal window, no terminal needed.
Is there any risk of it overwriting the wrong disk if I pick badly?Guarding against that is the core of its design: Etcher protects you from accidentally writing to your hard drives, and after flashing it verifies that every byte was written correctly.
Will it work on an Apple Silicon Mac?Yes — macOS 10.13 High Sierra and later is supported on both Intel and Apple Silicon. Windows needs 10 or later (Intel 64-bit), and Linux runs on most distros (Intel 64-bit).
Is Etcher free, or is there a paid tier?It is completely free, open-source software distributed under the Apache-2.0 license.
Can it flash a Raspberry Pi without taking the SD card out?Yes — Pi boards that support USB device boot mode can be flashed directly over USB, no card reader needed.
Why use Etcher instead of just running dd?Safety is the pitch: it guards against writing to the wrong drive and validates every byte of data, so a bad flash or a wrong target cannot slip through unnoticed.
What are similar projects?stemkit, winboat, disktree, moonlight-qt, pilot-harness, lolPing, GoLiveBypass, beekeeper-studio
Which topics is it in?linux-app, electron-app, raspberry-pi, macos-app, windows-app, electron, utility, gui, free, desktop-app, tool, apache-2.0
Creator
balena-io
Size
99 MB
Stars
34.5K
Updated
CommitSep 18Releasev2.1.7Sep 18
Age
10y
Commits · 90 Days